Aspirin Against Colon Cancer
The mechanism by which aspirin and aspirin-like products (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), also called COX-2 inhibitors) New England Journal of Medicine, written by Sanford Markowitz, MD, PhD - accompanying research results by Dr. Charles Fuchs’ team at Harvard Medical School.
Apparently, two-thirds of colon cancers have high levels of expression of the COX-2 enzyme – which, thankfully can be blocked by aspirin.
The findings that individuals who regularly used aspirin over a course of several years demonstrated a 36% decrease in the risk of developing one of these high COX-2 expressing colon cancers - - clearly shows that COX-2 inhibitors (drugs that block the COX-2 enzyme) can decrease the risk of colon cancer and that these drugs specifically target individuals whose tumor development is promoted by the action of the COX-2 enzyme.
According to Dr. Markowitz in the said editorial:
“Interventional trials have shown a decreased risk of the development of colon cancer in high-risk subjects who were given aspirin or COX-2 selective NSAID inhibitors and observational trials have associated a decreased risk of colon cancer with aspirin use.
The researchers’ findings provide powerful support for the role of COX-2 as a key mediator in the development of colon cancer and now pose questions about the biologic basis and clinical applications of discovering differences that express high or low levels of COX-2.”
Aspirin-like drugs specified in this study are ibuprofen and Celebrex.
Read the full report at Medical News Today. Click here for the NEJM editorial.
Tags: aspirin, colon-cancer, COX-2-inhibitors, NSAIDsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: on anti-cancer ingredients, on colon cancer
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