By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer
2 mins ago CHICAGO

Score another win for the humble aspirin. A study suggests colon cancer patients who took the dirt-cheap wonder drug reduced their risk of death from the disease by nearly 30 percent.

Aspirin already is recommended for preventing heart attacks and strokes, along with its traditional use for relief of minor aches and pains. Its merit in colon cancer prevention has been tempered by its side effects, bleeding from irritation of the stomach or intestines.

The new study suggests patients who already have colon cancer may benefit from taking aspirin along with surgery and chemotherapy. In a separate analysis of a subgroup of patients, only those with the most common type of tumor, those that overproduce the Cox-2 enzyme, saw a benefit.

It's too early for an across-the-board recommendation however, both Chan and Neugut said. The results should be confirmed in an experiment where patients would be randomly assigned to take aspirin or a dummy pill. A study based in Singapore that's now recruiting patients may verify aspirin's benefit.

Chan's study was observational, meaning researchers merely observed what patients were already doing, such as taking aspirin regularly for headaches. It's possible that factors other than aspirin accounted for the difference in cancer deaths.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States after lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that nearly 50,000 Americans will die from it this year.
[link to news.yahoo.com]