Aspirin and acid drugs can ‘prevent cancer’

A STUDY by Irish researchers has demonstrated the effectiveness of a combination of aspirin and acid suppression medication in preventing premature death or oesophageal cancer.

The findings from a 19-year cancer prevention study, published today in the ‘Lancet’, followed research spearheaded by scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.

Some 2,557 patients with a precancerous change in their oesophagus, termed Barrett’s oesophagus, were followed up for an average of nine years.

Professor Janusz Jankowski led the research during his tenure at five institutions over a 19-year period, including the University of Oxford.

The objective was to find out if it was possible to prevent the progression of abnormal precancerous cells to invasive cancer. The aim was also to prevent deaths from non-cancer conditions such as pneumonia, which patients with reflux are more susceptible to.

The trial was successful as it concluded that high doses of acid suppression significantly prevented premature death, cancer and, to a lesser extent, progression to high-grade dysplasia precancerous cells.

Aspirin also had an effect on these endpoints but only when patients who received non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Brufen, were removed from the analysis prior to their use. The combination of high dose acid suppression and aspirin had a combinatorial effect in that they worked better than either alone.

The trial is now being assessed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK to determine if it is to be included in treatment guidelines.