A daily aspirin may slash cancer risk for the obese

AN aspirin a day could reduce the risk of cancer for millions of overweight Britons.

A ten-year British study discovered that the cheap painkiller dramatically cut the chances of developing bowel cancer in obese men and women.

After regularly taking the drug, they were at no higher risk of the disease than people of normal weight.

Those who took part in the study had a rare genetic disease that put them at high risk of cancer.

But the Newcastle and Leeds University researchers said the principle should also apply to those without the disease, and that millions of ordinary Britons fighting the battle of the bulge could benefit from the finding.

John Burn, a professor of clinical genetics at Newcastle, said: ‘Lots of people struggle with their weight and this suggests the extra cancer risk can be cancelled by taking an aspirin.’

Previous research has credited the humble painkiller with protecting against a host of cancers, including lung, breast and prostate tumours. It is not yet clear how aspirin thwarts cancer but it may be by reducing the inflammation which aids its growth and spread, or by making it easier for the body to kill suspect cells.

At least seven types of cancer, including bowel cancer, are fed by weight gain – and Britain now has the highest level of obesity in Western Europe.

Rates have trebled in the last 30 years and today, one in four adult Britons is classed as obese – or so overweight that their health is at risk. Millions more are ‘merely’ overweight. The study tracked the health of almost 1,000 men and women with Lynch syndrome, which raises the odds of developing bowel and other cancers while still at a relatively young age. They took either two aspirin every day for two years or a dummy drug. Some 55 developed bowel cancer over the next decade and the fatter they were, the higher their odds.

In fact, those who were obese were almost three times as likely to be diagnosed with the disease as those who were slim.

However, taking aspirin reduced their risk to that of their more slender counterparts, the Journal of Clinical Oncology reports.

Researchers say aspirin is also likely to benefit those who are over- weight but not classed as obese. Prof Burn said the goal of every Briton should be to avoid becoming overweight in the first place. But if they do gain pounds and cannot shift it they could consider taking aspirin to cut their odds of cancer.

As the risk of developing the disease increases with age, the benefits are likely to be greatest in later life. It has been calculated that if everyone in the UK aged between 50 and 64 took aspirin for ten years, it would save 6,000 lives a year.

Professor Burn, who follows his own advice and takes aspirin regularly, said: ‘If you are overweight and over 50, it’s worth thinking about.

‘If you have a family history of cancer as well, you should certainly think about it.’

However, he stresses that people should speak to their doctor before self-prescribing. Concern remains about the risk of side- effects, including strokes and potentially fatal stomach bleeds.

Casey Dunlop, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘We know that people who are overweight have an increased risk of bowel cancer, and that aspirin can reduce the risk of bowel cancer in some people – but there is no evidence that shows aspirin can cancel out the effects of being overweight.’

‘Avoid weight gain at all’