Cancer aspirin trials promising

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DALLAS, April 27 (UPI) -- Aspirin, an over-the-counter drug since 1897, not only has cardiac benefits but may also be a weapon against cancer, a U.S. oncologist said.

Dr. Kevin Choe, an oncologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said several studies suggest taking aspirin daily can reduce the risk of cancer or prevent the disease from spreading in those who are already affected.

"We're not quite ready to recommend routine aspirin use in those diagnosed with cancer," Choe said in a statement. "It is premature to say that aspirin should be used in a standard-therapy way in all patients with cancer. But the results are encouraging."

Researchers at the University of Oxford reported that after three years of daily aspirin use, study participants had a risk reduction of almost 25 percent of developing cancer when compared to a control group not taking aspirin.

The study found after five years, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by 37 percent for those taking aspirin, Choe said.