Genetics may determine link between aspirin, colon cancer risk

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers have found that a person's individual genetics may determine if a person will have a reduced risk of colon cancer from taking aspirin.

The association between taking aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and colorectal cancer prevention is well known, but it is not understood why some people benefit from the agents and some do not.

Therefore, researchers from four countries sought to investigate whether there is an association between certain DNA variations and the protection that aspirin confers.

For the study, researchers analyzed the data of over 17,000 people from ten large studies. They identified 8,624 people who developed colorectal cancer and 8,553 people who did not.

Results showed that there was DNA evidence that 1 in 25 people do not benefit from aspirin. Researchers found that those people may actually have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer if they take aspirin.