Aspirin Reduces Breast Cancer Recurrence in Overweight Women

Posted on August 15, 2014

The American Center for Cancer Research recently reported on a new study released by the University of Texas finding that regular aspirin intake can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence in women that are overweight.

The idea of Aspirin having positive effects on one’s health is nothing revolutionary. Past research has already linked low dose aspirin regimens to protective benefits in the fights against colon, skin, squamous cell esophageal, & prostate cancers.

In 2013, Medical News Today reported on research suggesting that regular Aspirin routines may even slow the rates at which breast cancer grows and spreads. Now, University of Texas’ study published in the scientific journal Cancer Research suggests that in overweight women, regular low-dose Aspirin over a 3-year period helped reduce the risk of reoccurring breast cancer by a whopping 52%.

The study included 440 women diagnosed with the same form of breast cancer and treated at the same facility during a 24 year timeframe (from 1987-2011). A little over half of the women were considered obese while about a quarter of the women were considered overweight. The majority of the women in the study (81%) took aspirin regularly for a 3-year period. Women with a body mass index or “BMI” of over 30 saw a 52% reduction in breast cancer recurrence and an almost 2.5 year delay in the average time to recurrence.

The researchers also expanded on the previously established link between obesity and faster tumor growth rates. Their findings imply that in some cases, aspirin and other NSAIDs may be a safer and more effective treatment than chemotherapy to slow tumor growth rates in overweight women as well as to limit the effects that obesity has on promoting cancer.