Massachusetts General Hospital

Study reveals aspirin's colorectal cancer prevention mechanism

Aspirin therapy's ability to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, an association seen in a large number of studies, appears to depend on the drug's inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme, the action that also underlies aspirin's usefulness for treating pain and inflammation.

Postdiagnosis aspirin use reduces risk of dying from colorectal cancer

Regular use of aspirin after colorectal cancer diagnosis may reduce the risk of cancer death, report investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Aspirin's ability to protect against colorectal cancer may depend on risk-associated inflammatory pathways

The reduced risk of colorectal cancer associated with taking aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be limited to individuals already at risk because of elevations in a specific inflammatory factor in the blood.