The simple step you could take to reduce your risk of bowel cancer

What if there was one simple step you could take once or twice a week to reduce the chance of bowel cancer dramatically?

New research published in JAMA Oncology shows that one simple accessible drug may be more effective at cutting the risk of bowel cancer in unhealthy people than healthy people.

In a study of more than 100,000 subjects, scientists found that regular aspirin use of two or more tablets a week reduced the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) more in unhealthy participants than healthy patients. 

It is estimated that more than 15,300 people were diagnosed with bowel cancer in Australia in 2023. The average age at diagnosis is 69 years old. It is the second highest cause of death from cancer in Australia after lung cancer. 

Genetic risk

While there is a high genetic risk of bowel cancer, it’s also thought there are many lifestyle factors that increase the risk including being overweight, poor diet and exercise habits, and smoking and drinking.

According to a CNN report, US authorities recommended using aspirin to reduce the risk factor in 2016, but reversed their position because of concerns about bleeding. Daily use of aspirin can reduce blood clotting, which can be life-threatening if you are suffering from a bleeding ulcer or gastrointestinal bleeding.

However, this latest study took a different tack, to identify if aspirin could be worth the risk for certain individuals. 

It was found that those with the unhealthiest lifestyles had a 3.4 per cent chance of developing colorectal cancer if they didn’t take aspirin regularly, whereas those who did had a 2.1 per cent chance of developing the disease. In contrast, people with the healthiest lifestyles had a 1.5 per cent chance of developing colorectal cancer if they took aspirin regularly and a 1.6 per cent chance if they didn’t. 

Participants were studied for more than three decades and were drawn from two US data sets.

A healthy lifestyle score was calculated based on body mass index, alcohol intake, physical activity, diet and smoking, with scores ranging from zero to five (higher values corresponding to a healthier lifestyle). Regular aspirin use was defined as two or more standard tablets (325mg) per week.

Elevated risk

“Our results show that aspirin can proportionally lower the markedly elevated risk in those with multiple risk factors for colorectal cancer,” lead author Dr Daniel Sikavi, a gastroenterologist at Mass General Brigham, told CNN. 

“In contrast, those with a healthier lifestyle have a lower baseline risk of colorectal cancer, and, therefore, their benefit from aspirin was still evident, albeit less pronounced.”

While the results were clear, how it works is less clear. So despite the evidence that aspirin may help lower the risk of getting cancer, the lack of extensive research on the issue means there are no official medical guidelines for people to take aspirin to prevent cancer. 

And aspirin is also not a ‘get out of jail free card’ to carry on an unhealthy lifestyle.

Dr Jennifer Davids, chief of colon and rectal surgery at Boston Medical Center, told CNN that everyone shouldn’t just start taking regular aspirin.

“This is not permission to give up on healthful eating, exercise, avoidance of smoking and minimising alcohol use,” Dr Davids said.

Would you take the risk of regularly taking aspirin? Why not share your opinion in the comments section below?

Also read: Australia’s bowel screening tests saved my life