By Brin Wilk, Reporter

Recent studies for the American Cancer Society, led by John Radcliffe Hospital at the University of Oxford, show that taking aspirin regularly may cut your risk of dying from certain cancers by as much as 21 percent.

“This study provides important new evidence that long-term daily aspirin use may lower mortality from certain cancers,” Dr.Eric Jacobs, American Cancer Society strategic director of pharmacoepidemiology, said

The data was gathered from eight different clinical studies, in which a large group of patients have taken a daily aspirin to prevent heart attacks or cardiovascular disease.After 20 years, the aspirin takers had 20 percent fewer deaths from solid tumor cancers, compared to the non-users.  The reduction in deaths for specific cancers was 30 percent for lung cancer, 40 percent for colorectal cancer and 60 percent for esophageal cancer.

However, possible severe side effects mean “it would be premature to recommend people start taking aspirin specifically to prevent cancer,” Jacobs said.

Taking aspirin regularly can cause side effects, including irritation and stomach bleeding.

“People may wonder if they should start taking aspirin tomorrow,”Jacobs said.

“It’s important to first discuss aspirin use with your doctor. Decisions about aspirin use should be made by balancing the risks against the benefits.”

However, additional research is clearly needed to gather more data on long-term usage of the drug.

“It will take time for expert guidelines committees to carefully consider these new results together with the existing evidence and consider for whom the benefits of aspirin use are likely to outweigh the risks,” Jacob said.