Low-dose aspirin significantly reduced colorectal cancer recurrence in genetically defined patients.
A team of researchers led by Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital has demonstrated in a new randomized clinical trial that taking a low daily dose of aspirin can cut in half the likelihood of recurrence after surgery in patients with colon or rectal cancer whose tumors carry a specific genetic alteration.
Globally, nearly two million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. Of these, between 20 and 40 percent go on to develop metastases, making treatment significantly more challenging and often reducing survival rates.
From observation to clinical trial
Earlier observational research had suggested that aspirin might lower the risk of certain cancers and perhaps reduce recurrence after surgery in colorectal cancer patients with mutations in the PIK3 signaling pathway.
This pathway controls critical cellular functions such as growth and division. Mutations disrupt these processes, driving unchecked cell growth and cancer progression. However, results from previous studies were inconsistent, and no randomized clinical trials had confirmed the link. To resolve this uncertainty, researchers launched the ALASCCA trial, which has now been reported in The New England Journal of Medicine.
