There's
evidence that daily low-dose aspirin may decrease the risk of pancreatic
cancer, according to a new study.
The
Chinese-based study couldn't prove cause-and-effect. However, "the balance
of evidence shows that people who use aspirin to reduce risk for cardiovascular
disease or colorectal cancer can feel positive that their use likely also
lowers their risk for pancreatic cancer," said study lead author Dr.
Harvey Risch.
He's
professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and Yale Cancer
Center in New Haven, Conn.
According
to the American Cancer Society, about 53,000 Americans will be diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer this year, and almost 42,000 will die from the disease.
Pancreatic cancer is often a "silent killer" because symptoms do not
emerge until the tumor is advanced.
The
new study tracked 761 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Shanghai from
2006 to 2011, and compared them to 794 people who didn't have the cancer.
All
the participants were asked about whether they took low-dose aspirin on a
regular basis. Almost all who said they took it did so on a daily basis.
Eighteen
percent of the non-cancer patients reported regular use of low-dose aspirin
compared to 11 percent of the pancreatic cancer patients.
After
adjusting their statistics so they wouldn't be thrown off by various factors,
the researchers estimate that aspirin may reduce the already small risk of
pancreatic cancer by 46 percent.
However,
Risch's team stressed that the study doesn't prove that aspirin directly
produces a lower risk, and the participants may not have precisely remembered
their aspirin intake.
An
analysis of other studies found similar results. The researchers examined 18
other studies that had investigated aspirin use and pancreatic cancer risk over
the past two decades and found that as aspirin use increased, the risk of
pancreatic cancer significantly decreased.
"Pancreatic
cancer is relatively rare -- just 1.5 percent of U.S. adults will be diagnosed
with it at some point during life -- and regular aspirin use can cause
appreciable complications for some," Risch said in a news release from the
American Association for Cancer Research. "Therefore, a person should
consult his or her doctor about aspirin use."
One
oncologist who reviewed the data said Americans should be cautious in
interpreting the results.
"This
is an interesting study that suggests that regular aspirin use may reduce the
incidence of pancreas cancer -- in people living in China," said Dr. Tony
Philip, an oncologist at Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Lake Success,
N.Y.
"Anything
more than that cannot be extrapolated from this study," he said. "We
know the genetics of people in one part of the world is very different from
other parts. In addition, we don't know what else these patients were doing,
for example, taking herbal medicine, their family history, or access to medical
care."
Philip
said that he wouldn't suggest daily low-dose aspirin to his patients based on
this data alone. But the findings "can be the basis for further work"
researching this issue, he added.
The
study was published Dec. 20 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
More
information
For
more about pancreatic cancer, try the American Cancer Society
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