Aspirin Reduces Risk of New Polyps

Posted by Kate Murphy on October 13th, 2009

Taking either high or low dose aspirin reduces the chances the people with colorectal polyps (adenomas) will get more.

A combined analysis of three randomized controlled trials that compared taking aspirin to a placebo after adenomas were removed found that people who took a daily low dose or baby aspirin had almost a 20 percent lower chance of another adenoma during their next colonoscopy.  High-dose or regular adult strength aspirin reduced risk of polyp recurrence by about 15 percent.

Any aspirin reduced the risk of advanced adenomas by more than 35 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

Aspirin for Every Patient with Metastatic Colon Cancer?

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on August 31st, 2009

A recent study suggested that patients with colon cancer lived longer when taking aspirin.

Aspirin is a very interesting drug which has showed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and colon cancer risk and is a great pain reliever. The mechanism of action is the inhibition of an enzyme called COX-2. Read the rest of this entry »

Gene Found That Predicts in Which Patients Celebrex Works to Prevent Colon Cancer

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on May 28th, 2009

We have learned that we can prevent colon cancer by taking aspirin. However because of the significant side effects such as gastric ulcer, bleeding complications and kidney problems, aspirin is not recommended for the public to prevent colon cancer.

In an effort to prevent colon cancer but avoid the side effects of aspirin, COX-2 inhibitors such as Celebrex® (celecoxib) was developed and tested to see if they could prevent colon cancer without the side effects of aspirin. Unfortunately, we have witnessed that high doses of Celebrex can cause heart attacks which put a significant hold on the development of these drugs as chemopreventative agents. Read the rest of this entry »