Health
No Aspirin Benefit Seen Against Colon Cancer
Regular use of aspirin by both men and women to protect against colorectal cancer doesn't seem to have any basis in fact, researchers say. But postmenopausal women undergoing hormone replacement therapy may be reducing their risk of developing the disease.
Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, German and American researchers who looked at more than 22,000 participants in a major study say that despite previous reports, aspirin does not have the "causal role" researchers once thought it may have in preventing colorectal cancer.
Meanwhile, American researchers analyzing the Nurses' Health Study that concentrates on women say postmenopausal women using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be cutting their risk of colorectal cancer, but that such protection seems to disappear around five years after women stop using the therapy.
Women using hormone replacements had a 35 percent reduction in risk of developing colorectal cancer, the researchers say. Other benefits of HRT therapy are also believed to include protection against heart disease and osteoporosis. However, studies have also indicated an increase in the risk of developing breast cancer.
Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, German and American researchers who looked at more than 22,000 participants in a major study say that despite previous reports, aspirin does not have the "causal role" researchers once thought it may have in preventing colorectal cancer.
Meanwhile, American researchers analyzing the Nurses' Health Study that concentrates on women say postmenopausal women using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be cutting their risk of colorectal cancer, but that such protection seems to disappear around five years after women stop using the therapy.
Women using hormone replacements had a 35 percent reduction in risk of developing colorectal cancer, the researchers say. Other benefits of HRT therapy are also believed to include protection against heart disease and osteoporosis. However, studies have also indicated an increase in the risk of developing breast cancer.
