ASPIRIN TO PREVENT COLON CANCER
Report #7281
If you have polyps in your colon or a strong family history of colon cancer, your doctor may prescribe one adult aspirin every other day. At least 11 studies show that aspirin and two studies show that estrogen help to prevent colon cancer. Aspirin blocks certain prostaglandins,/ and some metabolites of prostaglandins are known to cause and spread cancer. Colon cancer cells make more prostaglandins than surrounding tissue and blocking certain prostaglandins prevents colon cancer. Estrogen helps to clear bile salts which are known to cause cancer.
Colon cancer is highly curable when it is diagnosed before it has spread, and the cure rate drops below 40% when it is diagnosed after it has spread. Therefore, people over the age of 50 should have a colonoscopy or barium enema X-ray at least once to check their colons for polyps, premalignant growths on the inner lining of the colon. If they have no polyps, no family history of colon cancer and no colon symptoms, many doctors feel that they don't need to be checked more often than once every ten years. However, if they have polyps, the doctor should remove them and they should be told that they are at increased risk for colon cancer. To help prevent colon cancer eat large amounts of fiber-rich foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans and avoid being overweight and eating too much food, particularly fatty foods, and drinking alcohol.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News
1) Koutsos, Markos et al. Can nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs be recommended to
prevent colon cancer in high risk elderly patients? Drugs and Aging. 1995;6(6):421-425. 2) Marnett LJ. Aspirin and related nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as
chemopreventive agents against colon cancer. Preventive Medicine 1995;24: 103-106. 3) Karnes WE. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. 1994(Jan);10(1):19-26. 4) ML Slattery, TD Berry, J Potter, B Caan. Diet diversity, diet composition, and risk
of colon cancer (United States). Cancer Causes & Control 8: 6 (NOV 1997):872-882.
Women who consumed the largest percentage (pi their food items in the form of plant foods
(fruits, vegetables, or whole grains) were at a reduced risk of developing colon cancer. 5) E Destefani, M Mendilaharsu, H Deneopellegrini, A Ronco Influence of dietary levels
of fat, cholesterol, and calcium on colorectal cancer. Nutrition and Cancer - an
International Journal 29: 1(1997):83-89.calcium effect was maximal at low levels of
dietary fat (and cholesterol intake), whereas fat (and cholesterol intake) showed a
positive monotonic increase in risk of colorectal cancer at high levels of calcium intake.
Reported 11/8/97; checked 8/9/05. See report #G210.