Can aspirin help treat cancer?
More and more studies are pointing to the benefits of adding aspirin to conventional cancer treatment. A new review examines this available research and asks the question: is it "time to share [the] evidence and decision-making with patients?"
Peter Elwood, of the Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, is the lead and corresponding author of the new analysis, which was published in the journal PLOS One.
Elwood explains the motivation for the research, saying, "The use of low-dose aspirin as a preventive in heart disease, stroke, and cancer is well established, but evidence is now emerging that the drug may have a valuable role as an additional treatment for cancer, too."
Indeed, in 2012, three studies published in the journal The Lancet suggested that a daily intake of aspirin may prevent a series of cancers in middle-aged people.
Also, last year, Medical News Today reported on another study that found aspirin enhances the effectiveness of an anti-cancer drug in mice.
In this context, Elwood and team set out to examine the benefits of aspirin intake in the treatment of cancer.
Their paper is entitled "Systematic review update of observational studies further supports aspirin role in cancer treatment: time to share evidence and decision-making with patients?"
