Khaberni - A recent scientific study conducted by Monash University in Australia has found that taking low doses of aspirin daily does not reduce the risk of cancer in the elderly.
Previous research indicated that regular use of aspirin reduces, after about ten years, the risk of some types of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. However, the results of the new study showed that this positive effect does not apply to people who start taking aspirin at an older age.
The study included more than 19,000 participants from Australia and the United States, most of whom were over seventy years old and had previously participated in the ASPREE clinical trial between 2010 and 2017, and had no history of heart disease, dementia, or disabilities that affect their independence.
In the first phase of the study, participants underwent a randomized trial in which they received either 100 mg of aspirin daily or a similar placebo, and they were later followed up in the ASPREE-eXTension study between 2018 and 2024 after they stopped taking the medication, in order to monitor the relationship between aspirin and cancer incidence.
The follow-up results, averaging 8.6 years, showed no significant differences in cancer rates between the aspirin group and the placebo group, even when analyzing cases by disease stages and extent of spread.
Conversely, researchers recorded a 15% increase in cancer-related mortality rates among participants who took aspirin during the first phase of the study, according to Professor Susan Orchard, the study's lead author from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
Orchard added that this increase in mortality rates did not continue during the subsequent follow-up phase, indicating no long-term effect of aspirin, while emphasizing the importance of continuing to monitor participants for longer periods.
Based on these results, the study concluded that starting low doses of aspirin for many years with the aim of preventing cancer in the elderly is not recommended, urging the necessity to consult doctors to choose the most appropriate ways to maintain health and prevent diseases.
