Aspirin's benefit in preventing colon cancer depends on DNA

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Aspirin's benefit in preventing colon cancer depends on DNA

Two decades after scientists discovered that aspirin might reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, a new study finds that it has that benefit almost exclusively in people with genes that produce high levels of a particular enzyme. "If you have low levels of (the enzyme), taking aspirin to reduce your colon cancer risk is probably not helping you," said Dr. Sanford Markowitz, professor of cancer genetics at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland and co-leader of the study. "But people with higher levels are getting a bang for the buck: The combination of high enzyme levels plus taking aspirin really seems to be the key to measurably reducing colon cancer risk." Identifying who can cut their risk of colorectal cancer, which the American Cancer Society projects will kill 50,000 people in the United States this year, by taking aspirin is especially important because the drug poses a significant risk of ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, which can be fatal.

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