For decades, aspirin has been known as a go-to painkiller. New research reveals how it may also help fight cancer.While previous research hinted at a link between aspirin use and improved cancer survival, a study published in Nature last week explains why. However, experts caution that aspirin is not a cure – and it carries risks like increased potential for internal bleeding.
So, how might aspirin keep cancer from spreading? And what does this mean for future treatments?
What have studies found about aspirin use and cancer?
Recent studies have revealed how aspirin, a widely used painkiller, may help prevent the spread of cancer, although it is unclear whether it would work the same for all types of the disease.
Researchers have been exploring this link for decades. The first clinical study, published in 1988, showed that regular aspirin use significantly lowered the risk of colorectal cancer, though the underlying reason remained unclear.
Now, a new study from the University of Cambridge offers more insight. It found the mechanism by which aspirin may help prevent cancer from spreading, a process known as metastasis. Advertisement
Metastasis is responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths, as cancer cells break away from the original tumour and try to take root elsewhere across the body.
As these drifting cancer cells go rogue, aspirin may enhance the body’s natural ability to fight back, keeping the cancer cells from taking hold of more organs.
How can aspirin keep cancer from spreading?
The key to aspirin’s effect on cancer lies in the body’s immune system, a complex network of cells and proteins that defends against infections, diseases and harmful germs.
When cancer cells break away from a tumour, they enter t …