The link between aspirin, bowel cancer and our genes

An international research team has suggested that the ingestion of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), long associated with lowering the risk of bowel (colorectal) cancer, may be dependent on a person’s individual genetics. Their study has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

While the link between taking NSAIDs and bowel cancer prevention is well established, the mechanism behind the process - and the reason why some people appear to benefit more than others - has not been understood. Co-author Professor Mark Jenkins, from the University of Melbourne, said the new study aimed to “investigate if genetic variation can be used to determine who will benefit from taking aspirin and who will not”.

Along with University of Melbourne colleague Professor John Hopper, as well as researchers from the USA, Canada and Germany, Professor Jenkins compared genetic and lifestyle data from 8624 people who developed bowel cancer with that of 8553 people who did not. He stated that while NSAIDs lowered risk of bowel cancer for the majority of people, “the benefit from taking these medicines was not the same for everyone, and one of the differences was in their DNA”.

“While most people benefit from aspirin, there was DNA evidence that about 1 in 25 people do not, and in fact may increase their risk of bowel cancer if they take aspirin,” Professor Jenkins added. He and the other researchers recommend validation of the findings in additional populations, so they may one day be used to facilitate targeted colorectal cancer prevention strategies.

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