Aspirin has been linked to internal stomach bleeding and several other side effects. A new study, however, suggests that the benefits of daily aspirin might outweigh the risks.
The study, conducted at Queen Mary University of London and published in the Annals of Oncology, suggests that daily aspirin use may reduce instances of some cancers and a person's risk of heart attack or stroke.
The investigation utilizes data from 200 studies. It suggests that bowel, esophageal and stomach cancer cases and deaths could drop between 30 and 40 percent with daily aspirin use.
"It has long been known that aspirin - one of the cheapest and most common drugs on the market - can protect against certain types of cancer," said Jack Cuzick, lead author of the study. "But until our study, where we analysed all the available evidence, it was unclear whether the pros of taking aspirin outweighed the cons."
According to the study, it took three years of daily aspirin use to demonstrate a health benefit. They found ideally, it would take five years of daily use for full benefits with a dosage between 75 and 325 miligrams daily.
They found that aspirin use over 10 years can cut instances of bowel cancer by 35 percent and death by 40 percent. They found that the instances of esophageal and stomach cancer were reduced by 30 percent and the related deaths decreased by 50 and 35 percent respectively. The heart attack risk decreased by 18 percent.
"Whilst there are some serious side effects that can't be ignored," Cuzick said. "Taking aspirin daily looks to be the most important think we can do to reduce cancer after stopping smoking and reducing obesity, and will probably be much easier to implement."
Most specifically, they found that in people aged 50-65 that took aspirin for 10 years, there would be a 9 percent reduction in cancer, stroke and heart attack in men and 7 percent in women.
People who took aspirin daily had a 1.4 percent increased risk for gastrointestinal bleeding.
Researchers suggest that further study needs to be done to confirm the benefits and potentially harmful side effects of the medication.
Researchers suggest that people who want to go on a daily aspirin regimen should talk to their physicians about their specific risks and potential benefits.
