The association between aspirin use and risk of all-cause, any cancer, gastrointestinal (GI) cancer and colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality in older people has been assessed in a recent cohort study conducted in thee USA. The study included 146,152 adults aged over 65 years (mean [SD] age: 66.3 [2.4] years) in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial at baseline (November 1993 – July 2001) and follow-up (2006-2008). Patients using aspirin 1-3 times per month had reduced risk of both all-cause mortality (multivariable hazard ratio [HR], 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80-0.88; P < .001) and cancer mortality (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81-0.94; P < .001) in comparison to patients with no aspirin use. In addition, patients using aspirin 3 or more times per week showed decreased mortality risk of all causes (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.80-0.83; P < .001), any cancer (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.81-0.88; P < .001), GI cancer (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.66-0.84; P < .001), and CRC (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.61-0.84; P < .001). These results suggest that regular aspirin use may be associated with a reduced overall and cancer-related mortality risk . The full details of the study can be accessed here.
Contributed by Australian Medication Safety Services Associate – Isabella Singh