Aspirin May Help Men with Prostate Cancer Live Longer

A study published in the journal of clinical oncology states that aspirin proves to be useful drug for men who have been treated with prostate cancer either with surgery or radiation as aspirin is associated with lower risk of death. 

It focused on more than 6,000 men in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) database who had prostate cancer treated with surgery or radiotherapy.

Prior to this three new studies added to growing scientific evidence suggesting that taking a daily dose of aspirin can help prevent, and possibly treat, cancer. The studies, led by Peter Rothwell of Britain's Oxford University, found that aspirin also has a short-term benefit in preventing cancer, and that it reduces the likelihood that cancers will spread to other organs by about 40 to 50 percent.

Nearly 2200 men involved in the study in which 37 percent received anticoagulants. The researchers compared the risk of death from prostate cancer between those consuming anticoagulants and those who did not. They saw the mortality rate was lower in patients taking coagulants when compared to the non coagulant patients. A difference of 3 percent versus 8 percent was noted.

"The suggestion that aspirin, a frequently prescribed and relatively well-tolerated medication, may improve outcomes in prostate cancer is of particular interest," said Dr. Kevin Choe, assistant professor of radiation oncology at UT Southwestern and first author of the study. Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among men and the second-leading cancer killer in the U.S.

"The results from this study suggest that aspirin prevents the growth of tumor cells in prostate cancer, especially in high-risk prostate cancer, for which we do not have a very good treatment currently," Dr. Choe said. "But we need to better understand the optimal use of aspirin before routinely recommending it to all prostate cancer patients."