A cheap aspirin tablet could halve bowel cancer recurrence in some patients — a startling new finding
An inexpensive pill—aspirin—could dramatically reduce bowel cancer recurrence for a subset of patients. In a large trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine, daily aspirin lowered the risk that cancer would spread to other parts of the body by 55% for patients with a specific genetic mutation. The drug can cost as little as 3p per tablet, making it extraordinarily affordable.
In This Article:
Bowel cancer is aggressive and frequently spreads
Bowel cancer, which includes colon and rectal cancer, is among the most aggressive and hardest to treat forms of the disease. It often spreads to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis, which makes treatment more difficult. Worldwide, nearly two million people are diagnosed each year, and 20–40% of those cases develop metastases.
The study: how it was done and what was found
Researchers recruited more than 3,500 bowel cancer patients from 33 hospitals across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. About 40% of participants carried a mutation in the PIK3 signaling pathway, which helps control how cells grow and respond to stress. After surgical removal of tumors, patients were randomised to receive either 160 mg of aspirin daily or a placebo for three years. Among those with the PIK3 mutation who took aspirin, the risk of metastasis dropped by 55% compared with the placebo group.
Aspirin as precision medicine and a potential cost-saver
Study lead Anna Martling, professor at Karolinska Institutet and senior consultant surgeon at Karolinska University Hospital, emphasised the drug’s accessibility and affordability: “Aspirin is a drug that is readily available globally and extremely inexpensive compared to many modern cancer drugs, which is very positive.” She described aspirin as being tested in a new context as a precision medicine treatment, saying: “This is a clear example of how we can use genetic information to personalise treatment and at the same time save both resources and suffering.” The trial is the first randomised study to confirm this association, and researchers believe the benefit may be greatest in genetically defined subgroups.
What this means for patients and what’s next
Symptoms of bowel cancer can include blood in the stool, a change in bowel habits, or a lump in the bowel that can cause obstruction. Some patients also lose weight. In the UK, about 44,000 cases are diagnosed each year, while the US sees around 130,000. The disease kills nearly 17,000 Britons annually and about 50,000 Americans. More than half of patients are alive 10 years after diagnosis. While aspirin is widely used to prevent blood clots at low doses, it carries risks: stomach ulcers, bleeding disorders, and asthma can make regular use unsafe. The study used 160 mg daily; doctors caution that this is not yet standard care and that further research is needed to confirm benefits for broader patient groups.
