Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : October 23, 2015 6:56 PM IST
Aspirin is a go to medicine, be it a headache, fever, cold or a cough, we don't think twice before popping that little pill. But what if its daily dose could stop five different cancers from recurring? At least that's what a British study is trying to establish. On Thursday, the world's largest ever clinical trial to establish whether taking a daily dose of aspirin can stop five common cancers from recurring was launched.
What is the trial about?
The trial is called the Add-Aspirin trial and is well into its phase III where 11000 patients who have recently had or are currently undergoing treatment for bowel, breast, oesophagal, prostate or stomach cancer will be recruited. Up to 9,000 patients will be recruited in the UK while another 2,000 will take part in India where the trial is expected to open in 2016. The trial funded by the Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The trial is aimed at finding out whether taking aspirin every day for five years can stop or delay cancers in early stages from coming back. According to Cancer Research UK, the trial will run for 12 years and will be conducted at more than 100 centres across the UK. The charity estimates 5.5 million people are diagnosed with the five cancers being measured in the trial every year worldwide. Read: Aspirin -- 10 amazing facts you should know
How will they conduct the study?
The participants will be segregated into three groups--one taking a 300 mg daily dose of aspirin, another taking 100mg aspirin every day and the third group taking placebos. Participants will self-administer tablets over the five-year period and will be actively followed for the next five years and the trial will be overseen in the UK by Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London (UCL). Read: Low-dose aspirin harmful for heart patients?
Why aspirin?
Previous studies have already proved that aspirin can prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people, and a few studies have also suggested that it can prevent some types of cancers. Dr Fiona Reddington, Head of population research, Cancer Research UK, explained that aspirin's possible effects on cancer are fascinating, and this trial will give a clear answer on whether this drug will stop cancers from recurring. She also said that this trial could be a potential game changer for many patients. If the outcome of the trial is as expected, it could provide a cheap, efficient and easily available resource to prevent cancer from recurring.
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