"Aspirin https already linked in some studies to a lower risk of developing colon cancer https may also cut the risk of dying of prostate cancer https by more than half a large study suggests. Researchers stress the findings are preliminary and that men with the cancer https should not reach for the aspirin bottle in an attempt to improve their health. But if the findings are confirmed patients who are taking aspirin for other reasons may see an added benefit says study head Kevin Choe MD a radiation https oncologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. The findings were released at a news briefing held in advance of the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology ASTRO in San Diego. Blood ClotCancer Link Studies have shown that people with cancer https are more prone to blood clots https and that people with blood clots are at increased risk of cancer https Also lab and animal studies suggest drugs that anticlotting drugs like aspirin may interfere with cancer growth and spread. So Choe and colleagues hypothesized that anticlotting drugs may lower the risk of dying among men with prostate cancer https The study involved  men with localized cancer whose disease had not spread beyond the prostate gland https  of the men were taking anticlotting medications https aspirin Lovenox Plavix andor warfarin https By  years after diagnosis  of men not taking one of these medications had died from prostate cancer vs.  of those who took an anticlotting medication. The risk that cancer spread was also reduced by anticlotting medications from  to . Also  of men who didnt take anticlotting medications had a recurrence of their cancer compared with  of men who did take them. Men who took aspirin gained the greatest benefit Choe says. Harvard Medical Schools Anthony Zietman MD president of ASTRO tells WebMD that the findings are intriguing. However they need to be confirmed and the optimal dose timing and duration of use needs to be worked out he says. Aspirin and other anticlotting medications carry risks of their own chiefly bleeding Zietman says. We have to be sure the benefits outweigh the risks before we recommend this to patients.  This study was presented at a medical conference. The findings should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the peer review process in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal."