Aspirin - prevention?

<http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=893008dc-b905-4d8c-b30a-300571180f81&k=25487>\

LAURAN NEERGAARD, The Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
The research could give you whiplash: Aspirin prevents cancer, one study
says. Oops, maybe not, says another. Now comes word that aspirin may fend
off cancer only if people take much more than is used to fight heart
disease, suggesting some of the earlier back-and-forth may have been due
to confusion over the right dose.

Even that evidence is circumstantial, offering no end to the competing
headlines.

"A general perspective that people have is, 'Why is it so difficult to get
a clear answer on a pill that costs a few pennies and is available
over-the-counter and taken by millions of people?'" says the American
Cancer Society's Dr. Michael Thun, a coauthor of the newest study.

For decades, scientists have chased the hope that aspirin could be an easy
way to prevent certain cancers. The idea: Aspirin fights inflammation, and
thus pain, by inhibiting substances known as cyclooxygenase, or COX,
enzymes. COX enzymes also are involved in the formation of certain kinds
of tumors, such as colorectal, prostate and breast cancers.

Aspirin does something else, as well: It makes blood less likely to form
clots, giving it an important role in fighting heart disease. A daily baby
aspirin ? 81 milligrams ? is recommended for people with cardiovascular
disease or who are at high risk for it.

In contrast, connecting the cancer dots ? showing that reducing COX would
in turn reduce tumors ? is vexing. And because aspirin can cause stomach
ulcers and bleeding, firm proof of an anticancer benefit is a must before
any health group will recommend using it for that reason.

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Until then, what's the average person to do? Neither the cancer society
nor a government committee that sets health guidelines recommends aspirin
to prevent cancer, even for those at high risk of colorectal cancer.
Consult a doctor first if you're considering it anyway, Thun stresses ?
aspirin can be dangerous if someone bleeds easily or has certain other
conditions.

For now, cancer specialists quote their cardiac colleagues' advice.

"Stick with what's heart-healthy," says Febbo. And stay tuned: "There's a
lot of potential for aspirin" and cancer.


Evaluating what you hear or read.....
http://www.stats.org/in_depth/evaluate_healthrisks/How_eval_health_risks.htm

J

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