A daily dose of aspirin lowers your risk of stomach and liver cancer by half, study claims
A study found that people were 47 per cent less likely to get digestive system cancers like liver cancer when they took the pill for at least six months
A DAILY aspirin can cut the risk of some digestive system cancers by almost half, a study suggests.
The benefit was seen in patients who took the painkiller for at least six months.
They were found to be 47 per cent less likely to get cancer of the liver or the oesophagus than those who did not take the drug.
The pill also reduced the incidence of stomach cancer by 38 per cent, pancreatic by 34 per cent and bowel by 24 per cent.
The five are among the UK’s 20 most common cancers. Researchers in Hong Kong analysed data on 600,000 people.
Participants had an average age of 67 and were followed for up to 14 years. One in six developed cancer during this time.
The analysis revealed aspirin also reduced the incidence of lung cancer by 35 per cent, leukaemia by 24 per cent and prostate cancer by 14 per cent.
Study leader Prof Kelvin Tsoi called the cancer risk reductions “substantial”. Long-term treatment with low doses of aspirin — usually 75mg — makes blood less sticky and can prevent clots.
But Dr Jasmine Just, of Cancer Research UK, warned it is still not entirely clear what impact aspirin has on most cancers.
She said: “It can have serious side effects like internal bleeding. Anyone thinking of taking it regularly should chat to their doctor.”
