Prostate cancer kept at bay... by aspirin

Aspirin is already taken by many people with heart disease, but now it seems it may also protect men with heart trouble from prostate cancer.

A study of more than 13,000 cardiac patients showed that men taking aspirin were 36% less likely to get prostate cancer. And among those who had been taking aspirin regularly for five or more years, the likelihood of the disease dropped by 57%.

‘Our findings indicate that low-dose aspirin might be associated with a reduction of risk of prostate cancer in patients with cardio or cerebrovascular [stroke causing] diseases,’ said a spokesman for the team from the Italian College of General Practitioners and Primary Care that carried out the study.

‘Raising patients’ awareness of its beneficial role in the prevention of prostate cancer might help improve adherence to the long-term therapy for the prevention of vascular problems.’

Aspirin, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory, is widely prescribed to people at risk of heart disease.

In patients whose blood vessels are narrowed from atherosclerosis, or ‘furring’ of the arteries, fatty deposits on the lining can cause a blocked artery and a heart attack.

Aspirin works by interfering with blood clotting by reducing the clumping together of platelets or clotting cells. Studies have also suggested it may help prevent colorectal cancers in heart patients. One theory about its anti-cancer effect is that the drug blocks cyclooxygenase or COX enzymes which are involved in the pain and inflammatory process.

The prostate study was reported in the International Journal Of Cancer.