Aspirin an Antidote for Pancreatic Cancer: Anti-inflammatory Properties might Reduce the Risk

Pancreas

According to a research conducted by Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Public Health, regular consumption of aspirin can almost cut half an individual’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Researchers found that individuals, who took low dose aspirin for years, had reduced chances of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

Pancreatic cancer is getting common with one adult fighting the deadly disease in every 60 adults and with less than 5 percent chances of five-year survival rate. Therefore, researchers were looking for a viable answer to prevent and cure this cancer.

Researchers associated with the research pooled data between 2005 and 2009, from 30 hospitals situated in Connecticut. They found 362 pancreatic cancer patients and a disease free group of 690 individuals. Research team gathered information related to the number of years these individuals have been using aspirin, kind of aspirin used, whether low or regular dose and when did they stop taking aspirin and along with other questions. A low dose aspirin is of about 75 to 325 mg, taken generally to prevent heart disease and a dose higher than 325mg is considered as regular dose and is consumed after an interval of four to six hours for pain or inflammation related issues.

Using this information, experts drew an inference related to danger of pancreatic cancer and aspirin usage in the past. The findings indicate that low and regular aspirin dose can cut down the chances of developing pancreatic cancer by half. For individuals who took aspirin for more than a decade, the chances of averting the cancer were 60 percent higher.

aspirin

Earlier studies showed a relation between the aspirin consumption and lowering the chances of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and deaths. But so far it was not fully understood what specific dose of aspirin (low or regular), the time span of aspirin usage was helpful in lowering the pancreatic cancer risk.

According to Professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health and senior study author Harvey Risch, it takes nearly 10-15 years for the pancreatic cancer to be diagnosed after the initial stages. And so the research team needed to know what individuals took during that time. They considered low dose aspirin as they are commonly used for long and could have been taken by individuals far in the past.

Though the study is based on observation and data, it requires further in depth research, the relationship between aspirin and reduced chances of pancreatic cancer risk would still exist. Risch explained that as aspirin is associated with anti-inflammatory properties and if pancreatic cancer initiates by low level inflammation, causing certain pancreatic cells to lose genetic control to convert into cancerous cells, then aspirin would be beneficial in lowering inflammation, retarding the rate of mutations in cells and even prevent spreading of cancer cells.

However, based on the research, one should not start taking aspirin without consulting doctors, as there are other risk associated with it. Nevertheless, the research suggests that aspirin plays a crucial part in lowering pancreatic cancer risk and certain other cancer, such as breast, esophageal, colorectal, ovarian, lung and stomach.

Source: Yale News

Image: dailydigestnews

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