LONDON — A low dose of aspirin might reduce colon cancer cases by a quarter and deaths by a third, a new study found. But experts say aspirin’s side effects of bleeding and stomach problems are too worrying for people who aren’t at high risk of the disease to start taking the drug for that reason alone.
Previous studies have found a daily dose of at least 500 milligrams of aspirin could prevent colon cancer, but the adverse effects of such a high dose outweighed the benefits. Now, researchers say a low dose, equivalent to a baby or regular aspirin, also appears to work.
European researchers looked at trials of aspirin’s use in preventing strokes. They found that people taking baby or regular aspirin pills daily for about six years reduced their colon cancer risk by 24 percent and that deaths from the disease dropped by 35 percent.
The study was published online in the journal Lancet.
