New Study Explains How Low-Dose Aspirin May Prevent Cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. There are more than 1400 million new cancer cases in the world every year, and about 8550 people in China become cancer patients every day. Therefore, the research on the treatment and prevention of cancer is a hot topic at present.

Recently, new research has confirmed and explained that low-dose aspirin does inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells. The argument for aspirin to prevent cancer stems from a 2012 Oxford University study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The study included five large randomized controlled trials of cardiovascular patients in the UK. The experimental group took aspirin (≥ 75mg) every day and recorded the incidence of cancer in all patients. The anti-metastatic effect of aspirin was then observed, and cancer patients were classified according to histographic and clinical features, adenocarcinoma vs other. A total of 17825 patients participated in the study, and 987 patients were diagnosed with solid tumors during a mean follow-up period of 6.5 years (SD 2.0). The survey showed that adjuvant aspirin therapy prevented metastasis in 1 out of every 5 cancer patients. At the same time, aspirin reduced mortality in advanced adenocarcinoma (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.53-0.82, p = 0.0002), but was ineffective in other cancers (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.84-1.32, p = 0.64). The subjects, regardless of gender, were observed to benefit most from smokers. Low-dose, slow-release aspirin preparations can resist platelet aggregation, but they affect bioavailability. It is speculated that aspirin reduces mortality in cancer patients primarily because of its inhibitory effect on metastasis. Studies have shown that aspirin is helpful in treating certain cancers, especially adenocarcinomas.

However, because the above research is only investigation and lack of theoretical and experimental support, there is a lot of controversy about whether aspirin can prevent cancer for a long time. A recent study conducted by Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in collaboration with Oregon State University (OSU) has finally given an explanation, and the results are published in the journal AJP Cell Physiology.

"Aspirin's benefits may be due to its effect on blood cells called platelets, rather than acting directly on tumor cells," said senior author McCarty Owen, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at OHSU. Platelets are tiny blood cells that help the body form clots to stop bleeding when necessary. It seems that platelets also increase the level of a certain protein that can support cancer cells and help them spread. This "oncoprotein" is called c-MYC. The biological function of c-MYC is to regulate the expression of more than 15% of human genes. c-MYC regulators control the life and death cycle of cells, the synthesis of proteins and the metabolism of cells. It has been shown that this oncogene is overexpressed in cancer.

The researchers in this latest study explain that aspirin has the ability to lower platelets and raise levels of c-MYC cancer proteins. "Our work suggests that part of the anti-cancer effect of aspirin may be as follows: During blood transport, circulating tumor cells interact with platelets, which stimulate tumor cells to survive by activating oncogenes such as c-MYC. Aspirin reduces this signal between platelets and tumor cells, thereby indirectly reducing tumor cell growth." Early cancer cells live in a very hostile environment, where the immune system regularly attacks and tries to eliminate them. Platelets can play a protective role against those early cancer cells and help them metastasize. Inhibition by aspirin appears to interfere with this process.

This is the first study to show the ability of platelets to regulate the expression of c-MYC in cancer cells. The researchers also noted that almost 1/3 of patients with colon cancer and 42% of patients with pancreatic cancer c-MYC oncoprotein overexpression. They also noted that aspirin had the same effect on platelets at high and low doses. Thus, clinicians can weigh the risks and benefits of aspirin intake against the reduced risk of bleeding, a common side effect of taking too much aspirin.

In conclusion, because the interaction between platelets and cancer cells occurs early, the use of antiplatelet doses of aspirin may be a safe and effective preventive measure. And this is not a small piece of good news for Bayer, which is bent on tapping the potential of aspirin.

In the nearly 120 years since the application for a patent for the invention of aspirin was approved in 1899 to today, history is enough to make it clear that there are at least two reasons that promote the sale of aspirin as a commodity: the low price and the strong promotion of Bayer. New uses of aspirin are always being discovered, and Bayer has maximized the potential of this drug through repeated marketing, and then firmly grasped the benefits of this product in its own hands through patents and trademarks.

When Bayer patented aspirin that year, it also gained legal control of all acetylsalicylic acid production in the United States for 17 years. This means that Bayer can control the production of a certain item for a specific period of time. Bayer clung to this opportunity and desperately linked aspirin to Bayer.

Even though Bayer holds the patent rights to aspirin, it is still plagued by smuggling and counterfeit drugs. In the early 20th century, about 1000 companies around the world copied aspirin. Bayer tried its best to recover the loss of the patent from the trademark. They make tablets of aspirin made in the United States, each with a Bayer cross mark, and then pack the tablets into a box. In the fall of 1916, advertisements for aspirin appeared in newspapers across the United States, with a large line above a picture of a box of aspirin: "Bayer. Aspirin tablets." The following reads: "The 'Bayer Cross' on every box of every real aspirin protects you from all counterfeits and substitutes." Bayer strives to make consumers associate "Bayer" with "aspirin" so that when they have a headache, their first reaction is to need aspirin, Bayer's aspirin.

At that time, as long as doctors can approve a drug, the drug can sell well. So Bayer chose to market to the academic and medical communities rather than the general public. In previous years, Bayer did not even advertise the drug to the public. They simply placed advertisements in medical journals and sent free aspirin samples to hospitals and medical professors in a way that gradually built up the influence of aspirin among professionals like doctors and professors. In the process of aspirin from a drug to a commodity, the credit cannot be fully attributed to Bayer. Exactly what conditions aspirin can be used for will need to be proven in large-scale FDA-approved clinical studies.

On the other hand, among the challenges Bayer encountered, the biggest one was the expiration of the patent right for aspirin in February 1917. Coupled with the factors of World War I, Bayer lost its patent right in many countries. Bayer still wants to keep control of the drug. The time is too long, and it is becoming more and more difficult to control patents. But Bayer found that even a new pattern with an innovative patent on the dosage form is effective. In 1971, Bayer aspirin plus vitamin C effervescent tablets came out; In 1993, Bayer aspirin enteric-coated tablets were listed. Enteric-coated tablets have a coating on the outside of aspirin. This tablet does not dissolve in the stomach until the intestine does not work, thus almost completely solving the side effects of stomach discomfort. 2003 Bayer aspirin granular products (no water) available.

Bayer is exemplary in its handling of the aspirin patent. It is believed that once the report on aspirin can effectively prevent cancer is issued, Bayer's aspirin will usher in another sales peak.

News source:http://news.bioon.com/article/6696275.html

This news was re-edited and reorganized by the Huaxun team and added analytical comments.