Topline
Weekly aspirin use may reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer—especially in those with unhealthy lifestyles—a new study found, as experts warn colorectal cancer is affecting younger populations and harmful lifestyle choices may be to blame.
Key Facts
The study followed almost 108,000 men and women with an average starting age of 49 years old for three decades, and researchers recorded their aspirin intake and assigned them lifestyle scores based on their BMI, diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption and cigarette use.
The study found participants with regular aspirin use—which is considered as two or more standard 325 mg pills, or at least six low-dose 81 mg tablets, per week—had a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to the study published Thursday in JAMA Oncology.
Aspirin’s benefits were the most pronounced among the participants with the most unhealthy lifestyles, especially those who smoked cigarettes and had higher BMIs: This group had a 3.4% chance of getting colorectal cancer if they did not take regular aspirin and a 2.12% chance of getting colorectal cancer if they took aspirin regularly.
In comparison, in participants with the healthiest lifestyle scores, the colorectal cancer rates were 1.5% in the regular aspirin-taking group and 1.6% in the non-regular aspirin group.
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The researchers pointed to previous evidence that suggests aspirin can reduce the production of pro-inflammatory proteins, known as prostaglandins, which are known to promote the development of cancer, as the reason aspirin lowers colorectal cancer risk.
Why Is Colorectal Cancer On The Rise In Young Adults?
A recent study found 17 types of cancers were becoming more prevalent among millennials and Generation X. Some 10 of those cancers were obesity-related, and colorectal cancer was one of them. Around 20% of all colorectal diagnoses in 2019 were in Americans under age 55—double the rate in 1995—according to a 2023 American Cancer Society report. Both the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the U.S. Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer recommended in 2021 most Americans be screened for colorectal cancer at age 45, which is five years earlier than previously recommended, and continue with screenings periodically until age 75. Colorectal cancer has risen from being the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and women under 50 during the late 1990s, to being the first in men and second in women, according to a January ACS report. Breast cancer is the leading cause in women under age 50. Experts aren’t entirely sure why there’s a rise of colorectal cancer cases in younger people, but they believe certain lifestyle factors like diet, lack of movement, obesity, tobacco and alcohol use and environmental exposure to certain chemicals may be to blame. Obesity rates have been increasing for decades, and almost half of the U.S. is predicted to be obese by 2030, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Several studies have linked diets high in ultra-processed foods and antibiotics to certain cancers, and research has found the consumption of ultra-processed foods among Americans has increased substantially since 2001.
Big Number
152,000. That’s about how many Americans are expected to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year, the American Cancer Society predicts.
Key Background
The Preventive Services Task Force previously recommended in 2016 adults in their 50s take low-dose aspirin every day for prevention of colorectal cancer and heart disease. However, this suggestion was dropped in 2022, and the organization said it was unclear if aspirin reduced the risk of colorectal cancer. This came after research from 2020 suggested older people who took a daily low dose of aspirin actually had an elevated risk of advanced cancer and death from cancer.
Further Reading
Cancer Rates Increased Among Millennials And Gen X, Study Suggests—Here’s Why (Forbes)
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