HHS HealthBeat (September 14, 2009)

Colon cancer, aspirin and living

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study indicates that colon cancer patients who take aspirin regularly can improve the odds of surviving.

Dr. Andrew Chan of Massachusetts General Hospital examined data from almost 1,300 people with colon cancer whose disease had not spread beyond the colon or rectum.

[Dr. Andrew Chan speaks] "The men and women who used regular doses of aspirin after diagnosis had about a 29 percent reduction in the risk of dying from colorectal cancer after a  follow-up of about 11 years."

Chan says the risk reduction was strongest in people with tumors with high levels of a possible marker for a type of colorectal cancer that’s sensitive to aspirin.

Chan says the results must be confirmed before it can be recommended as treatment.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011