Aspirin cuts pancreatic cancer risk by half

NEW YORK — Regular aspirin use cut the risk of pancreatic cancer by half, according to a finding that adds one of the most lethal malignancies to the list of diseases the inexpensive pill may help fight.

Men and women who took low-dose, about 75 to 325 milligrams, of aspirin daily, usually to prevent heart disease, had a 48 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer, according to research published Thursday in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Taking aspirin regularly for a decade cut the risk by 60 percent.

Studies have found that regular aspirin use reduces the risk for colon, esophageal, lung and prostate cancers, and the pill is often prescribed to lessen heart attack and stroke risk. About one in 60 adults will develop pancreatic cancer, which has a five-year survival rate of less than 5 percent, so finding ways to prevent the disease is “crucial,” said senior study author Harvey Risch.

“If people are already using low-dose aspirin for cardiovascular disease prevention, they can feel good that most likely it’s lowering their risk for pancreatic cancer,” said Risch, a professor of epidemiology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in a June 25 telephone interview. “For people whose doctors have told them through studying their family history of cancer or having done genetic testing have identified that they are at higher risk for pancreatic cancer, then using aspirin might be beneficial as part of a plan to try to lower their risk.”

Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most-common malignancy in the United States, in terms of new cases each year, but the fourth highest in terms of deaths, the researchers said. This year, more than 46,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed and almost 40,000 people in the U.S. will die, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Risch said it’s unclear how aspirin works to lower pancreatic cancer risk as researchers are unsure how the cancer evolves. He said it could be that aspirin reduces cancer risk by lowering inflammation.

Still, Thursday’s results don’t mean people should start taking aspirin to prevent pancreatic cancer as the medicine has side effects like gastrointestinal bleeding, he said.

The study involved patients from 30 hospitals in Connecticut, including 362 people with pancreatic cancer and 690 people who didn’t have the disease.

They found that both daily use of low-dose aspirin and daily use of regular aspirin, defined as a dose exceeding 325 milligrams, reduced pancreatic cancer risk. The findings were stronger in those taking the lower dose, Risch said.

The study also found that the longer a person took aspirin, the greater the protection against pancreatic cancer.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.