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Fox News
12-03-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Common pain medication could reduce cancer spread, study finds
Taking a common over-the-counter pain reliever could help keep certain cancers from spreading. That's according to a new study from the University of Cambridge, which found that aspirin could reduce cancer metastatis (spread) by stimulating participants' immune systems. The findings were published in the journal Nature on March 5. In mouse models, scientists discovered that a certain protein called ARHGEF1 suppresses T-cells, which are immune cells that can pinpoint and attack individual cancer cells that break away from original tumors, according to a press release. ARHGEF1 was "switched on" when T cells were exposed to thromboxane A2 (TXA2), a chemical produced by platelets that helps with blood clotting. Too much of TXA2 can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. That's where aspirin comes in — it is already known to stop the production of TXA2 and prevent clotting, which is why it may be recommended to prevent cardiac events in some people. "Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies." "This new research found that aspirin prevents cancers from spreading by decreasing TXA2 and releasing T cells from suppression," the press release stated. In mice with melanoma, the ones that were given aspirin had less frequent metastases of the cancer compared to those who were not given the medication. "It was a 'eureka' moment when we found TXA2 was the molecular signal that activates this suppressive effect on T cells," stated first author Dr. Jie Yang from the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge in the release. "Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin," he went on. "Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally." Previous studies have suggested that daily aspirin treatment is associated with reduced cancer spread in humans with the disease and with reduced cancer mortality in patients without metastasis, noted senior researcher Dr. Rahul Roychoudhuri, professor of cancer immunology at the University of Cambridge. In one randomized controlled trial, taking 600 milligrams of aspirin daily for an average of 25 months substantially reduced cancer incidence in carriers of hereditary colorectal cancer. Pashtoon Kasi, MD, medical director of gastrointestinal medical oncology at City of Hope Orange County in California, reiterated that previous research has linked aspirin use with a reduced risk of cancer, particularly gastrointestinal tract cancers. "It has been identified in numerous studies with mixed results on reducing the risk of recurrence and/or improving outcomes in patients with metastatic cancer," Kasi, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital. "This new study further demonstrates how aspirin and other inhibitors of this pathway could be used in new treatments to prevent the cancer from metastasizing or spreading." Roychoudhuri, the senior researcher, encouraged caution in applying the findings. While aspirin is low-cost and widely available, its long-term use is not without "significant risks," he said, including stomach bleeding and haemorrhagic stroke, particularly in older individuals. "This is why we emphasize that patients should not start taking aspirin for cancer prevention without specific medical advice from their doctor," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The risk-benefit calculation varies substantially between individuals based on age, comorbidities and concurrent medications," the doctor noted. "Patients interested in aspirin therapy should discuss it with their oncologist or family practitioner, who can evaluate the potential benefits against the risks." Kasi pointed out the study's potential limitations, primarily that the research was conducted on mice models rather than humans. "The study also did not take into account complications that some people who use aspirin regularly experience, such as bleeding or interactions with other medications," he noted. "However, it builds upon the growing body of evidence … and provides mechanistic insights into how this effect might occur from an immune perspective." Kasi agreed that patients should talk to their doctor to discuss the benefits and health risks associated with regular aspirin use. "In some cases, low-dose aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs are already being considered in clinical use, as well as in additional trials – for example, for individuals born with Lynch syndrome who have a higher predisposition to developing colorectal, endometrial and other cancers," he noted. The scientists are planning to conduct more research — through the Add-Aspirin clinical trial, which will recruit more than 10,000 patients with early-stage breast, colorectal, gastroesophageal and prostate cancers across the U.K. and India — to determine whether aspirin can stop or delay the recurrence of these cancers. "Patients interested in aspirin therapy should discuss it with their oncologist or family practitioner, who can evaluate the potential benefits against the risks." "Our research suggests aspirin could potentially be most beneficial for patients with early-stage cancers who have been treated with curative intent but might harbor undetected micrometastases," Roychoudhuri said. "However, further clinical validation is needed before specific recommendations can be made." For more Health articles, visit The research received funding from the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the European Research Council. The Add-Aspirin clinical trial is funded by Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Medical Research Council and the Tata Memorial Foundation of India.
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Eating yogurt could reduce colon cancer risk, researchers find
The bacteria is found in yogurt, MGB said in a statement, and the researchers believe 'long-term yogurt intake' may reduce the cancer risk by 'changing the gut microbiome.' They cautioned that more research is needed before they can draw firm conclusions. To conduct the study, researchers examined data from two prior studies that tracked more than 151,000 health professionals over decades, MGB said. Participants answered repeated questionnaires about lifestyle factors and disease outcomes, including their average daily intake of plain and flavored yogurt. 'The researchers did not observe a significant association between long-term yogurt intake and overall colorectal cancer incidence, but they did see an association in Bifidobacterium -positive tumors, with a 20 percent lower rate of incidence for participants who consumed two or more servings of yogurt a week," the statement said. Advertisement The lower rate was 'driven by lower incidence of Bifidobacterium -positive proximal colon cancer — a type of colorectal cancer that occurs in the right side of the colon," MGB said. Prior studies have found that patients with proximal colon cancer have worse survival outcomes than patients with distal cancers, which start near the pancreas, MGB said. A Bifidobacterium-positive tumor refers to one that contains the bacteria in its tissue. Dr. Shuji Ogino, a study author who leads the Program in Molecular Pathological Epidemiology in the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said the findings are intriguing. 'Our study provides unique evidence about the potential benefit of yogurt,' Ogino said in a statement. Dr. Tomotaka Ugai, a coauthor of the study, said 'it has long been believed that yogurt and other fermented milk products are beneficial for gastrointestinal health. 'Our new findings suggest that this protective effect may be specific for Bifidobacterium -positive tumors,' Ugai, who works in the Brigham's Department of Pathology as well as the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in the statement. Advertisement Another co-author, Dr. Andrew T. Chan, chief of Massachusetts General Hospital's Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, said the study provides a guidepost for further research. 'This paper adds to the growing evidence that illustrates the connection between diet, the gut microbiome, and risk of colorectal cancer,' Chan said. 'It provides an additional avenue for us to investigate the specific role of these factors in the risk of colorectal cancer among young people.' Travis Andersen can be reached at
