Aspirin may not reduce colorectal cancer risk

Washington, March 18: Regular use of aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) can reduce most people’s colorectal cancer risk but a few individuals with rare genetic variants do not share this benefit, a study has suggested. “Previous studies, including randomised trials, demonstrated that NSAIDs, particularly aspirin, protect against the development of colorectal cancer, but it remains unclear whether an individual’s genetic makeup might influence that benefit,” co-senior author Andrew Chan of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Gastroenterology Division said in a statement on Tuesday.  “Since these drugs are known to have serious side effects — especially gastrointestil bleeding — determining whether certain subsets of the population might not benefit is important for our ability to tailor recommendations for individual patients,” Xinhua quoted Chan as stating. (IANS)