Posted on 10/26/2025 8:38:23 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
In a recent clinical trial, a low dose of aspirin reduced the risk of colon and rectal cancer recurrence by half in patients whose tumors carried a specific genetic mutation.
Just 160 milligrams of aspirin daily—about half a pill of a standard adult tablet—reduced cancer recurrence by around 60 percent in a certain patient subgroup.
These patients carried mutations in the PI3K gene, which affects about a third of all colorectal cancer patients. “Aspirin is a drug that is readily available globally and extremely inexpensive compared to many modern cancer drugs, which is very positive,” lead study author Dr. Anna Martling, a professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, said in a statement.
The findings showed that patients who took aspirin were less likely to see their cancer grow or come back over three years compared to those who took a placebo.
All participants had undergone surgery for stage 2 or stage 3 colon or rectal cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to take either 160 milligrams of aspirin or a placebo daily for three years. The study did not include colorectal cancer patients who did not carry the PI3K gene mutation.
Depending on where the gene mutation in the PI3K gene occurred, benefits from aspirin supplementation differed.
In the group with the PI3K mutation in exon 9 or 20, the risk of cancer returning was cut by 51 percent. For patients with PI3K gene mutations in other sections of the gene, aspirin reduced the recurrence risk by 58 percent.
Overall, patients who took aspirin were about 55 percent less likely to have their cancer return—less than half the recurrence rate seen in the placebo group. The treatment could help more than one-third of colorectal cancer patients—a significant portion of the more than 100,000 Americans diagnosed with the disease annually, Martling said.
The exact mechanism by which aspirin reduces cancer recurrence in these patients is still unknown; however, one potential reason is that aspirin affects tumor-driving pathways involving PI3K.
Aspirin blocks a tumor-promoting protein called COX-2 while PI3K raises COX-2 levels. In patients with mutations in this pathway, aspirin can provide targeted inhibition of processes that encourage cancer.
Other parallel mechanisms include aspirin’s ability to reduce inflammation and inhibit platelet function, both of which drive tumor growth.
He explained that previously, doctors had only tested patients with stage 4 disease for PIK3CA mutations, but now it is recommended to test patients with stages 2 and 3 as well.
“This research highlights the importance of precision medicine and the use of advanced diagnostics,” Martling said. “These tools can enable tailored treatments and the repurposing of existing drugs for new applications.”
Dr. Jason Korenblit, a gastroenterologist in Orlando, Florida, and not involved in the study, said that even low-dose aspirin has risks. These include gastrointestinal bleeding, peptic ulcers, hemorrhagic stroke, as well as the risk of adverse interactions with other medications.
“Patients with a history of ulcers, bleeding disorders, anticoagulant use, or those at high risk for bleeding,” such as older people and those with kidney disease, “are at greater risk,” he said, adding that aspirin can irritate the stomach lining. “Those with concurrent NSAID [non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs] use, H. pylori infection, or other risk factors may [also] have higher risk.”
Researchers plan to continue analyzing the data, including looking at how factors such as gender and socioeconomic status might influence the outcomes.
Dr. Raj Dasgupta, a board-certified physician specializing in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine, and not involved in the study, warned against cancer patients self-medicating with aspirin.
“The benefit showed up mostly in patients whose tumors had specific PI3K pathway mutations,” he said. “Which means it won’t necessarily help everyone the same way.” For that reason, Dasgupta added, he wouldn’t recommend self-medicating.
“If someone is interested, the best step is to bring it up with their oncologist, who can look at their genetic profile and overall health to see if aspirin even makes sense.”
My youngest son was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2019 when he was 48. After surgery and six months of chemo, he was cancer free. That was 6 years ago. He just had his latest scan and he’s clean. My son has also been on blood pressure medication for years. His doctor told him to take one low dose aspirin a day. Last fall he was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (bad heart valve), and the Cardiologist told him to stop taking the aspirin as it could cause problems with the heart medications he takes.
I had my first colonoscopy last Thursday and they found 4 polyps , one 2cm in size . All were removed and I am awaiting results .
Bkmk
Thank you for sharing your story. Hope for the best for you and your family.
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