An Aspirin A Day?

Thanks to all that came out for our impromptu foredeck gathering.  It was fun catching back up with you all.  What a great way to enjoy our pretty weather. 

Elise and Keith are taking advantage of Spring Break to sleep in this morning.  While the kid sleep on, I've been catching up on some online reading. Now, I have yet another health question for Dr. G (my oncologist):  Will an aspirin a day keep cancer at bay?  A recent observational study raises the question of whether regularly taking aspirin will help reduce women's risk of cancer...melenoma, breast or other types of cancer.   Results are mixed which means more research is needed.  http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/03/11/173838757/aspirin-vs-melanoma-study-suggests-headache-pill-prevents-deadly-skin-cancer

Here's a portion of the article: 

Dr. Randall Harris of Ohio State University thinks it's reasonable for people to take some aspirin for its anti-cancer effects. He's used Women's Health Initiative data to show that aspirin may reduce the risk of breast cancer.

"You don't need to take too much," Harris tells Shots. "You just need to reset the inflammatory mechanism, in my opinion. And so you can get by with just a couple of tablets a week. That's what I do — been doing it for a long time."

Harris is pretty convinced that aspirin prevents cancer by damping down a master gene called Cox-2 that controls inflammation.

But Jacobs thinks something else is going on. He thinks aspirin may reduce cancer by inhibiting platelets, blood components that promote clotting.

"We know that activated platelets release substances that can encourage cancer growth and development," Jacobs says.

The anti-platelet effect could explain why the new study did not find a reduced risk of melanoma from anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. These NSAIDs don't inhibit platelets the way aspirin does.

Scientists' lack of understanding about how aspirin may exert an anti-tumor effect is a caution against its widespread use as a cancer preventive agent.

Basically, scientists haven't done enough studies to really give an answer, but it is an interesting question.  Anyone have any additional insight or information?


"Life is an unanswered question, but let's still believe in the dignity and importance of the question." Tennessee Williams  
 
"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer." Bruce Lee