Cape Town - The ordinary aspirin may cut the risk of bowel cancer in overweight people, according to an international study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK said that being overweight more than doubled the risk of bowel cancer in people who had Lynch syndrome, a genetic disorder which affected genes responsible for detecting and repairing damage in the DNA. About half of those who suffered from the disorder developed cancer, mainly in the bowel and uterus.
Now the results of a 10-year study have shown that the risk of cancer could be reduced by taking a regular dose of aspirin.
Lead researcher John Burn, professor of clinical genetics at Newcastle University, said the team believed that aspirin had an effect on the underlying mechanism which pre-disposed some people to cancer, changing the cells which are predisposed to become cancerous later on.
One possibility they suggested was the “little recognised effect of aspirin to enhance programmed cell death”. This happened in plants, for example, when salicylates triggered cell death to help contain the spread of infection.
“We may be seeing a mechanism in humans whereby aspirin is encouraging genetically damaged stem cells to undergo programmed cell death. This would have an impact on cancer,” Burn said.
He said while the findings were important for those with Lynch syndrome, the findings were also important for those who did not have the syndrome but who were overweight.
“This research adds to the growing body of evidence which links an increased inflammatory process to an increased risk of cancer. Obesity increases the inflammatory response.
“One explanation for our findings is that the aspirin may be suppressing that inflammation which opens up new avenues of research into the cause of cancer.”
Cape Times