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Lichtenberger LM. Using aspirin to prevent and treat cancer. Inflammopharmacology 2024; 32:903-908. [PMID: 38064111 DOI: 10.1007/s10787-023-01346-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
This review will discuss evidence that aspirin possesses anticancer activity. Long-term observational retrospective studies on nurses and health professionals demonstrated that regular aspirin users had a significantly lower incidence of colorectal cancer (RCT). Prospective studies on patients with a high risk of developing colorectal polyps/cancer confirmed that aspirin use significantly lowered colorectal dysplasia. Numerous observational studies focused on the use of aspirin in a broad range of cancers demonstrating a consistent 20-30% preventive effect on cancer incidence and mortality. Random Controlled Trials provided conflicting results on the benefit of aspirin in preventing CRC. Based on the age, weight/body size of the subjects for reasons still being explored. Studies on rats/mice further demonstrated that treatment of animals with aspirin where colon cancer was induced chemically or genetically (APCMin mice) reduced colonic dysplasia and polyp formation. Aspirin treatment was also effective at reducing the growth of cancer cells transplanted into normal/immunocompromised mice, suggesting that aspirin may be effective in treating different cancers. This possibility is also supported in clinical studies that aspirin use pre- and postcancer diagnosis significantly reduced the metastatic spread of cancer and increased patient survival. Lastly, the importance of the antiplatelet actions of aspirin in the drug's anticancer activity and specifically cancer metastatic spread is discussed and the current controversy related to the conflicting recommendations of the USPSTF over the past five years on the use of aspirin to prevent CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenard M Lichtenberger
- Professor Emeritus of Integrative Biology & Pharmacology, Department of Integrative Biology & Pharmacology, McGovern Medical School at UT Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, Houston, TX, 77025, USA.
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Bakshi A, Cao Y, Orchard SG, Carr PR, Joshi AD, Manning AK, Buchanan DD, Umar A, Winship IM, Gibbs P, Zalcberg JR, Macrae F, McNeil J, Lacaze P, Chan AT. Aspirin and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer According to Genetic Susceptibility among Older Individuals. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 2022; 15:447-454. [PMID: 35348611 PMCID: PMC9256779 DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.capr-22-0011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Although aspirin has been considered a promising agent for prevention of colorectal cancer, recent data suggest a lack of benefit among older individuals. Whether some individuals with higher risk of colorectal cancer may benefit from aspirin remains unknown. We used a 95-variant colorectal cancer polygenic risk score (PRS) to explore the association between genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer and aspirin use in a prospective study of 12,609 individuals of European descent ages ≥70 years, enrolled in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial (randomized controlled trial; RCT). Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association of aspirin use on colorectal cancer, as well as the interaction between the PRS and aspirin treatment on colorectal cancer. Over a median of 4.7 years follow-up, 143 participants were diagnosed with incident colorectal cancer. Aspirin assignment was not associated with incidence of colorectal cancer overall [HR = 0.94; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.68-1.30] or within strata of PRS (P for interaction = 0.97). However, the PRS was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (HR = 1.28 per SD; 95% CI, 1.09-1.51). Individuals in the top quintile of the PRS distribution had an 85% higher risk compared with individuals in the bottom quintile (HR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.08-3.15). In a prospective RCT of older individuals, a PRS is associated with incident colorectal cancer risk, but aspirin use was not associated with a reduction of incident colorectal cancer, regardless of baseline genetic risk. PREVENTION RELEVANCE There is strong evidence to support prophylactic aspirin use for the prevention of colorectal cancer. However recent recommendations suggest the risk of bleeding in older individuals outweighs the benefit. We sought to determine whether some older individuals might still benefit from aspirin based on their genetic susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Bakshi
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, VIC 3004 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Yin Cao
- Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Suzanne G. Orchard
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, VIC 3004 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Prudence R. Carr
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, VIC 3004 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Amit D. Joshi
- Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, MGH Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02108, USA
| | - Alisa K Manning
- Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, MGH Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02108, USA
| | - Daniel D. Buchanan
- Colorectal Oncogenomics Group, Department of Clinical Pathology, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,Genomic Medicine and Family Cancer Clinic, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Australia
| | - Asad Umar
- Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD 20892, USA
| | - Ingrid M Winship
- Genomic Medicine and Family Cancer Clinic, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Australia,Department of Medicine (RMH),The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Peter Gibbs
- Personalised Oncology Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia
| | - John R. Zalcberg
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, VIC 3004 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Finlay Macrae
- Genomic Medicine and Family Cancer Clinic, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Australia,Department of Medicine (RMH),The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - John McNeil
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, VIC 3004 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Paul Lacaze
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, VIC 3004 Melbourne, Australia
| | - Andrew T Chan
- Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, MGH Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02108, USA
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