USPSTF recommends aspirin for prevention of colorectal cancer

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

For the first time, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a broad recommendation to take aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer.

In the draft report, the task force found that low-dose or baby aspirin can help prevent heart attacks, stroke, and colorectal cancer, particularly in high-risk people in their 50’s.

An analysis on colorectal cancer found that aspirin use reduced colorectal cancer-related deaths by 33% and reduced colon cancer incidence by 40%; however, people need to take aspirin for at least 5 to 10 years in order to have a benefit.

“No major health organization has previously recommended the use of aspirin to prevent cancer,” Dr. Eric Jacobs of the American Cancer Society said. “This is a new approach that makes a great deal of sense.”

However, not everyone feels positively about these new recommendations. “People still need to be screened,” Dr. David Johnson of the United Stated Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer said. “I have major reservations that the message will be, ‘I take aspirin, so I don’t need to be screened.’”

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States in men and women separately and the second leading cause when combined.