An aspirinetta a day, the small daily dose taken as a defense against cardiovascular disorders, reduces the risk of developing colorectal cancer as long as the treatment is started before the age of 70. the conclusion reached by a new study conducted by American researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, published in the scientific journal JAMA Oncology, which adds a significant piece to the larger picture of numerous research conducted on this topic. In fact, in recent years there has been much evidence gathered in favor of the use of aspirinetta, in the protection from some forms of cancer, first of all that of the colorectal. While numerous studies have concluded that the daily dose taken to prevent heart disease also lowers the risk of developing cancer, also known that among the main side effects, especially for those who take the treatment for a long time, there are the formation of gastrointestinal ulcers and gastric haemorrhage. The problem for the experts therefore is to correctly balance pros and cons, risks and benefits: for example, when should you start taking aspirin as an anticancer prevention? And for how long?
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The new survey: who risks less with aspirin
This question was answered by Andrew T. Chan, gastroenterologist and epidemiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues who analyzed the data contained in two large American registers, for a total of 94,549 participants followed over a period of time aged 35 (from 1980 to 2014). Regular use of aspirin was compared with non-regular intake and the results indicate that the risk of developing significantly less colorectal cancer in people over the age of 70 only when treatment was taken before the age of 70, with a relative risk reduction of 20%. This preventive effect was particularly evident in people who had taken low doses of aspirin for at least 5 years before reaching 70 years of age. Carmine Pinto, director of Medical Oncology at the AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia -. While in people who started treatment after the age of 70 there was no significant reduction in risk. This result indicates that aspirin with the primary purpose of preventing colorectal cancer in old age should not be recommended, while it supports the recommendation to continue therapy when it is started at a younger age.
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Possible explanations of the effects on older people
What can be the reasons for this lack of preventive effect of aspirin when it is started at an advanced age? The development of colorectal cancer in the elderly may have different biological mechanisms than in younger individuals – Pinto answers -. For example, aging associated with DNA alterations, also in the older population colorectal carcinomas arise more frequently in the right colon and carcinomas of the right colon present more frequently mutations in the KRAS and BRAF genes, while several studies highlight the preventive effect of aspirin in colorectal carcinomas that do not have these mutations. It’s still: the intestinal microbiota of older people is different from that of younger people and could thus influence drug metabolism and the development of age-related diseases modulated by metabolic and inflammatory processes. Body mass could also affect the preventive effect of aspirin, limiting its impact in the elderly population, more often overweight.
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February 11, 2021 (change February 12, 2021 | 11:05 am)
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