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Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

cardiff.ac.uk

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Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#11

Post by 01100011 »

didntknowya wrote: post #2

although indiscriminate long term aspiring can cause GI side effects

Increases risk for hemorrhagic strokes as well. AFAIUI, your clotting ability is impaired, so if you get a minor bleed, it's not minor for long.

IIRC, the recommendations to folks taking aspirin for heart attack prevention is "don't, unless you've already had an ischemic event" because the risk outweighs the benefits for everyone else. That could change if we find new and/or unexpected benefits from low-dose aspirin.

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#13

Post by objektif »

01100011 wrote: post #11
didntknowya wrote: post #2

although indiscriminate long term aspiring can cause GI side effects

Increases risk for hemorrhagic strokes as well. AFAIUI, your clotting ability is impaired, so if you get a minor bleed, it's not minor for long. IIRC, the recommendations to folks taking aspirin for heart attack prevention is "don't, unless you've already had an ischemic event" because the risk outweighs the benefits for everyone else. That could change if we find new and/or unexpected benefits from low-dose aspirin.

I am very skeptical about these side effect claims. Do you have hard data supporting this or doctor hearsay. Years ago I remember watching Charlie Rose Brain series where one of the professors said something like “ we know of two drugs that we are certain are very safe for human beings: alcohol and aspirin.”

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#14

Post by InSteady »

sdenton4 wrote: post #8
didntknowya wrote: post #2

although indiscriminate long term aspiring can cause GI side effects

Also addressed in TFA, it turns out. GI symptoms are pretty mild in the universe of cancer drug side effects, and the aspirin slows metastatic cancer spread considerably, so seems like a no brainer.

It isn't a cancer drug, so that isn't a fair comparison. GI symptoms from eating more broccoli and not ever drinking are also pretty mild compared to cancer drugs. Aspirin appears to be a preventative according to some initial research. National cancer institute says even the most at-risk age group (age 60+) is still only has cancer rates of around 1 in 100. How long are you going to take low dose aspirin?

Are GI symptoms mild if you take low dose aspirin on a daily basis for 30 years? 40? Longer even? All to reduce your odds of getting cancer from 1 in 100 to 1 in 120 at the latest stage of your life. The gains are marginal in younger stages of your life where cancer rates are much lower.

Don't get me wrong, if this is validated it's a very interesting result. A mechanism of action could be potentially groundbreaking. It doesn't mean start taking aspirin every day for the rest of your life at age 38 just to be on the safe side, however.

It is also worth considering that this is purely an association at this point. It is possible that some of this effect is because cardiovascular disease, the primary reason for taking low dose aspirin, tends to kill people before the odds of getting cancer have time to really flex their muscles. We might assume that ethical researchers without perverse incentives working within a system primarily concerned with scientific truth would have ruled out that possibility... but then we would be idealists who are ignorant of how the world works. Or any other number of reasons why this might turn out to be a big old pot of nothing to get excited about.

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#15

Post by justin66 »

01100011 wrote: post #11
didntknowya wrote: post #2

although indiscriminate long term aspiring can cause GI side effects

Increases risk for hemorrhagic strokes as well. AFAIUI, your clotting ability is impaired, so if you get a minor bleed, it's not minor for long. IIRC, the recommendations to folks taking aspirin for heart attack prevention is "don't, unless you've already had an ischemic event" because the risk outweighs the benefits for everyone else. That could change if we find new and/or unexpected benefits from low-dose aspirin.

Almost all strokes are ischemic strokes.

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#16

Post by dr-data »

dhuk_2018 wrote: post #7

Tomorrow's news will say it will be a 20% increase in some other desease...

Found it already! In today's news:

> Currently, a number of randomised trials which test aspirin and mortality are in progress. These focus upon the common cancers: colon, breast, prostate and one in lung cancer. One of these trials, based upon 3021 selected patients in remission from a HER2-negative breast cancer, has already reported [31]. This trial was ended prematurely because aspirin was associated with a possible increase of about 25% in deaths.

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#17

Post by voisin »

objektif wrote: post #13
01100011 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Increases risk for hemorrhagic strokes as well. AFAIUI, your clotting ability is impaired, so if you get a minor bleed, it's not minor for long. IIRC, the recommendations to folks taking aspirin for heart attack prevention is "don't, unless you've already had an ischemic event" because the risk outweighs the benefits for everyone else. That could change if we find new and/or unexpected benefits from low-dose aspirin.

I am very skeptical about these side effect claims. Do you have hard data supporting this or doctor hearsay. Years ago I remember watching Charlie Rose Brain series where one of the professors said something like “ we know of two drugs that we are certain are very safe for human beings: alcohol and aspirin.”

> “ we know of two drugs that we are certain are very safe for human beings: alcohol and aspirin.”

I am not sure I understand. We know alcohol isn’t safe, let alone very safe, in any quantity. So immediately this seems contradictory?

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#18

Post by justinator »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #10

Now combine that with extra fiber and you'll practically live forever: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38523805

If you climb 50 steps a day as well, you may become unstoppable: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38425724

Re: Taking low-dose aspirin is associated with 20% reduction in cancer deaths

#20

Post by tptacek »

InSteady wrote: post #14
sdenton4 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also addressed in TFA, it turns out. GI symptoms are pretty mild in the universe of cancer drug side effects, and the aspirin slows metastatic cancer spread considerably, so seems like a no brainer.

It isn't a cancer drug, so that isn't a fair comparison. GI symptoms from eating more broccoli and not ever drinking are also pretty mild compared to cancer drugs. Aspirin appears to be a preventative according to some initial research. National cancer institute says even the most at-risk age group (age 60+) is still only has cancer rates of around 1 in 100. How long are you going to take low dose aspirin? Are GI sym…

Long term low-dose aspirin regimes are well studied and common (for cardiovascular protection). This isn't some oddball thing the study is suggesting people do; the reason they were able to survey over 1MM pts is that so many people are already doing this.

Meanwhile --- and I say this as a stalwart enjoyer and advocate of crucifers of all kinds --- broccoli is simply not associated with dramatic suppression of cancer metastases.

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