Medical experts have always advocated daily intake of aspirin to stave off heart disease and stroke. Still, they are suggesting that such people

because they take aspirin daily could be protected from a wide range of cancers, including colon cancer, reports Sade Oguntola.

Taking just two pills of aspirin a day can dramatically reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer in people with a family history of the disease by almost two-thirds, providing the evidence that the drug can be used for cancer prevention.

Research published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, which tracked eight previous clinical trials comprising over 25,500 patients for more than four years, and focused principally on people with Lynch syndrome, revealed that as low as 75 milligrammes of this century-old remedy for aches and pains reduces cancer deaths overall by 21 per cent.

Lynch syndrome is an inherited genetic disorder that causes cancer by affecting genes responsible for detecting and repairing DNA damage. The protective impact of low-dose aspirin on stomach and colorectal cancer death only show in people who take aspirin for a long period of time.

Risk was particularly diminished after five years of treatment with the drug, by 30 to 40 per cent depending on the type of cancer. The 20-year risk dropped on an average by a fifth: 10 per cent for prostate cancer, 30 per cent for lung cancer, 40 per cent for colon cancer, and 60 per cent for oesophageal cancer.

They also found that higher doses of aspirin did not appear to boost the protective benefit. And while neither gender nor smoking history appeared to affect the impact of low-dose aspirin, age definitely did. The 20-year risk of death reduced more dramatically among older patients.

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with lowest incidence in countries of the world such as Asia, Africa and India where people eat foods that are hot and spicy. In the last decade, cancers of the colon and rectum moved from the tenth to the fourth position in Nigeria, “according to Dr David Irabor, a senior lecturer, Surgery department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. And “between three to five patients with confirmed colon or rectal cancer at any given week at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan ward.”

The new study has for the first time revealed that aspirin also helps protecting against prostate, lung, brain, and throat cancers, among others. For cancer of the lung and throat, the protective effect was restricted to adenocarcinomas, the type typically observed in non-smokers.

No doubt aspirin has the potential to save thousands of lives worldwide and is clear evidence of the value of long-term studies showing simple steps that can be taken to improve people’s lives. What is more, perhaps the most important finding is the proof of principle that cancers can be prevented by simple compounds like aspirin, and that “chemo-prevention” is therefore a realistic goal.

However, aspirin also slightly increases the risk of bleeding in the stomach and ulcers, meaning that this risk has to be weighed against the potential benefits in preserving health–the reduction in the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Certainly the risk of side-effects can be reduced by taking enteric-coated aspirin or antacids to reduce stomach irritation or taking it with a glass of milk. But, anyone interested in taking aspirin on a regular basis need to talk to their doctor first.

As for how aspirin prevents cancer, expert suggested that there was the possibility that it blocks Cox-2, an enzyme associated with inflammation, that is often up-regulated in colorectal cancer, thus in some way damps down cancer.

Aspirin also seems to prevent cancers from developing in the first place. Laboratory work indicated that salicylate, the active ingredient in aspirin, enhances apoptosis or cells to self-destruct before they turn cancerous.

The researchers now aims to determine the best dose of aspirin for those with Lynch Syndrome and wants to recruit 3,000 people around the world to do so. They will be given 600, 300, or 75mg daily.

Still, consumption of pulses such as kidney beans at least three times a week reduce their risk of developing polyps (small growths in the lining of the bowel which can become cancerous) or that eating brown rice once a week could cuts the risk of colorectal cancer by two fifths.

Interestingly, the carbohydrate-based diet of Nigerians has been shown to be protective against the development of colon cancer,” stated Dr Irabor in his lecture entitled “May What We Consume Not Consume Us.”

Many African diets, including beans and maize, contain resistant starch (carbohydrates), which are protective against colorectal cancer. Interestingly, the starch in maize used to prepare Tuwo, was more protective against colorectal cancer than that in potato just as consumption of cassava may also be protective against cancer because it contains a chemical called tamarin, which is responsible for the production of Hydrocyanide. Tamarin has been shown under laboratory conditions to cause death of cancer cells by self-toxicity with Hydocyanide.

In addition, red pepper which is used widely in Nigerian cooking has been shown to protect against colorectal cancer. The main ingredient of red chili pepper is capsaicin and it is shown to cause death of colon cancer cells.

But there are evidences linking long term alcohol use, cigarette smoking and overindulgence in high-calorie containing meals as well as reduced physical activity with the probability of developing colon and rectum cancers.

Sadly, Dr Irabor stated, “according to previous research, people who are obese are two to three times more likely to develop colon cancer than their leaner counterparts.” However, “exercise has been shown to relieve constipation and also reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. The best exercises for relieving constipation are walking and flexibility exercises.”

How do you recognise colon or rectum cancer? Well, “the most common symptom of this cancer is bleeding from the anus,” he stated. The individual might be passing out bright red or dark red blood in his or her stool or black, dark coloured, “tarry” stools; experience difficulty having a bowel movement or straining to have a bowel movement; abdominal discomfort, bloating, frequent gas pains, or cramps.

However, the fact that a myriad of diseases can lead to bloody stools, what many people in the western part of Nigeria referred to as “igbe tapa”, he explained make many people not to associate bloody stools with anything with sinister implication such as cancer.

In addition, a significant symptom of colon cancer, he stated is sometimes, “an unexplained anemia (low red blood cell count or low iron in your red blood cells) and easy fatigability in a middle aged person.”