FAQs: Frequently asked questions
1. I do not have cancer. Should I take aspirin?
The evidence we present in this web-item relates to aspirin and cancer. Elsewhere there is abundant evidence on the risks and benefits of aspirin used in the treatment, and in the prevention of vascular disease (heart attacks, ischaemic strokes and deep vein thrombosis). Consult that evidence, and then talk to your doctor.
2. I have cancer – should I take aspirin?
The research upon which our web-item is based, summarises the average responses of adult patients with cancer, to low-doses of aspirin. Research never brings certainty, but across large groups of patients aspirin appears to be favourable in a number of ways.
3. I have cancer and I get Indigestion – should I take aspirin?
No. See your doctor first and accept their advice.
4. I am already taking a ‘blood-thinning’ medication, should I take aspirin on top?
No. See your doctor first and accept their advice.
5. What dose of aspirin is appropriate to help in the treatment of cancer?
A single tablet of aspirin BP contains 300mg of acetyl salicylic acid. A tablet of ‘low-dose’ (or ‘Junior’ aspirin) contains only 75mg or 100mg aspirin. Almost all the research on aspirin and cancer has been based upon ‘low-dose’ aspirin.
6. How safe is low-dose aspirin?
Allergic reactions to aspirin are rare, and are usually easily recognised.
Spontaneous bleeds from the stomach or intestine occur occasionally due to an ulcer or an infection in the stomach, with nothing to do with aspirin. Aspirin increases the occurrence of such bleeding by about 50%. This means that if a bleed occurs in a patients taking aspirin, the chance that aspirin is the cause is only 1:3. Furthermore, the severity of bleeds truly attributable to aspirin is likely to be less than bleeds due to an ulcer etc. and a bleed truly attributable to aspirin is rarely, if ever, fatal.
A very rare complication is a haemorrhagic stroke Blood pressure should be checked and treated if raised. This appears to remove any risk of a stroke associated with aspirin.
7. Can aspirin be taken alongside other cancer treatments?
Yes. All the research evidence to which we refer has been collected from studies of patients undergoing usual cancer treatments.
8. What are the benefits of aspirin?
- Aspirin delays the spread of cancer to other organs in the body.
- Aspirin reduces the risk of a vascular disease event (an MI, stroke or DVT).
- Aspirin appears to increase the survival of patients with cancer by about 20%
On the first two of these the evidence is quite consistent and strong.
On the third: the present evidence is inconsistent, but overall we, the authors of this web-item – judge the effect of aspirin to be favourable.
9. How does aspirin achieve these effects?
Most drugs benefit disease though effects upon biological mechanisms, that is cellular and other processes such as growth, chemical and other interactions of cells, enzymes and proteins. One of the most important effects of aspirin is a prolonged reduction in the activity of circulating blood platelets – a key element in the clotting that causes heart attacks and strokes, and in the metastatic spread of cancer within the body.
10. If I start taking aspirin and feel no benefit, should I stop taking it?
Certainly not! There is abundant evidence that suddenly stopping daily aspirin leads to a marked increase in acute vascular disease events: heart attacks, strokes and deep vein thrombi. If your doctor agrees, withdraw aspirin gradually over the course of a few weeks.
Downloadable Information Leaflet
Low-dose aspirin is not an alternative to any other treatment. Patients with cancer should however raise the topic of aspirin with their healthcare team and enquire whether or not low-dose aspirin is likely to be helpful to them.
The leaflet can be downloaded onto your computer and printed. It can then be taken to your doctor or a member of your healthcare team and used as a basis for discussion.