An aspirin a day keeps the apple away

Taking aspirin every day may significantly reduce the risk of many cancers and prevent tumors from spreading, according to two new studies.

Researchers at the University of Oxford found that after three years of daily aspirin use, the risk of developing cancer was reduced by almost 25 percent when compared with a control group not taking aspirin. After five years, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by 37 percent among those taking aspirin.

A second paper that analyzed five large randomized controlled studies in Britain found that over six and a half years on average, daily aspirin use reduced the risk of metastatic cancer by 36 percent and the risk of adenocarcinomas — common solid cancers including colon, lung and prostate cancer — by 46 percent.

“What really jumps out at you in terms of prevention is the striking 75 percent reduction in esophageal cancer and a 40 to 50 percent reduction in colorectal cancer, which is the most common cancer right now,” Dr. Peter M. Rothwell, a professor of clinical neurology at the University of Oxford, said. “In terms of prevention, anyone with a family history would be sensible to take aspirin.” 

But you have to talk to your doctor, because aspirin raises the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, but of hemorrhagic strokes.