Low-dose aspirin reduces breast cancer mortality

LOW DOSES of aspirin can reduce mortality in women with stage one to three breast cancer, new Irish research suggests.

The research, Aspirin Use and Mortality in women with Stage 1-111 Breast Cancer, was presented by one of its authors, Dr Thomas Ian Barron, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) which took place in Chicago at the weekend.

Dr Barron is supervisor to two Irish Cancer Society scholars based in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Trinity College Dublin.

The research he presented on Saturday showed a “significant association between high aspirin exposure and reduced breast cancer mortality in women with stage 1–111 breast cancer”.

According to the study, low-dose aspirin (75mg) accounted for 90 per cent of aspirin use among the women, suggesting the use of low-dose aspirin may be sufficient to reduce mortality in women with stage one to three cancer.

It is the first Irish study to identify an association between aspirin use and mortality in women with breast cancer.

The study was based on patient records from the national cancer registry, linked to prescription dispensing data.

In all, 2,714 women with stage one to three breast cancer were identified, of whom 642 had used aspirin in the 90 days before being diagnosed with cancer.

“Quite noticeably women diagnosed with breast cancer who were taking low-dose aspirin consistently every day for a cardiovascular indication for example, obtained the benefit of it and lived longer,” said Dr Barron.

The study, he said, provided the further rationale for a randomised clinical trial for aspirin in patients with breast cancer that looked closely at dosage and timing.

Prof John Fitzpatrick, head of research with the society, said the study showed the need for further research into the beneficial impacts of aspirin use in reducing the mortality of women with breast cancer.