"A daily aspirin to prevent cancer Maybe. A British study http offers compelling  though not clinching  evidence that the humble aspirin tablet can prevent death from a variety of cancers if you take the medicine long enough in middle age. Even a baby aspirin might be enough. Dont start popping aspirin every morning to fight tumors without talking to your doctor though. Yes scientists have already published strong evidence http suggesting aspirin can cut bowel cancer and deaths. The painkillers antiinflammatory properties and effects in damping down precancerous polyps may be involved. And the latest study published in The Lancet suggests aspirin could provide protection against a wide variety of tumors. They range from pancreatic cancer to the type of lung cancer that strikes nonsmokers httplungcancer.about.comodwhatislungcanceralungcancernonsmokers.htm. For some of these cancers the reduction in death was remarkable. Twenty years after people had started taking aspirin regularly and kept it up for at least five years their deaths from esophageal cancer httpheartburn.about.comcsarticlesaesophaguscancer.htm were reduced by  percent compared to study subjects who got a placebo. Deaths from adenomatous lung cancer were cut  percent those from colorectal cancer  percent and those from prostate cancer  percent. Still none of the big guns in cancer and prevention  the National Cancer Institute the American Cancer Society or the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force  are ready to advise healthy people to start taking aspirin to prevent cancer. But the latest batch of evidence deserves a closer look. It encompasses eight earlier studies that compared cancer deaths among more than  people randomly assigned to get aspirin of different doses or placebo. And the researchers were able to gather more information about cancer deaths for up to  years after those studies ended  about nearly  people. Article continues after this message from our sponsor For cancer prevention experts the British study is provocative and significant. This is definitely the first time that research has shown that longterm aspirin use can reduce the risk of deaths due to cancer Dr. Asad Umar of the National Cancer Institutes division of cancer prevention tells Shots. In fact Umar says no drug has been shown before now to prevent cancer deaths. This is definitely hypothesisgenerating for future studies Umar says. Massachusetts General Hospitals Dr. Andrew Chan http who studies the effect of aspirin on gastrointestinal cancers says the new study will feed a growing sense among experts that there is likely some potential anticancer effect of aspirin. Dr. Peter Rothwell an Oxford University neurologist who led the study tells  Shots that aspirins effect on cancer is quite a lot bigger than its benefit in preventing heart attacks and strokes  the reason millions of Americans already swallow a baby aspirin every day. So I think in the fullness of time preventing cancer will be seen to be the main reason for taking aspirin in healthy individuals Rothwell says. He started taking a daily dose of aspirin a couple of years ago as the results of his study emerged. It was looking as though there was something going on and I thought it was a sufficiently large benefit to be worth doing something about says the yearold researcher. Rothwell says the sensible time to start taking aspirin would be before the risk of cancer starts to rise at about . He says prophylactic aspirin is worth thinking about for people with a family history of early cancers. But aspirin carries risks. The biggest is stomach bleeding although it also raises the risk of brain hemorrhage. Daily aspirin doubles a persons gastrointestinal bleeding risk to about  in every  people a year. But Rothwell says this bleeding hazard is drowned out by the cancer benefit. Prof. Peter Elwood of the University of Cardiff who wasnt involved in the new study agrees. Theres a small risk of any of us having a gastric bleed Ellwood said at a Lancet press conference Monday. But when you inspect the datayou find that the mortality from the bleed is not increased. In other words aspirin seems to be increasing the lessserious bleeds he said. To be sure the U.S. Preventive Services Task Forces currently recommends against http taking aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer the type of cancer for which there is the largest body of scientific work. The benefits of daily lowdose aspirin can exceed the risks for many middleaged and older people when it comes to preventing heart attacks and strokes the task force says http So for those already taking prophylactic aspirin for this reason the possible anticancer effects are just icing on the cake. Other healthy people interested in taking aspirin to prevent cancer should consult their doctors experts say and possibly await further evidence. A final word about dose The new study didnt find any additional anticancer benefit for aspirin doses above  milligrams a day  the British dose for a baby aspirin. In the United States a baby aspirin weighs in at  milligrams. However experts say more information is needed on the optimum dose for cancer prevention. Theres a little controversy about whether a baby aspirin dose is enough says Harvards Chan. We think that probably a standard adult aspirin dose of  milligrams is more likely to be effective."