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Reviewing the Role of Aspirin in Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer

  • Personalized Medicine in Colorectal Cancer (CMS Rocha-Lima, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Colorectal Cancer Reports

Abstract

A substantial number of observational and interventional studies support the role of aspirin as preventive agent in many types of cancer, especially in colorectal cancer (CRC). Low-dose aspirin (75–325 mg), used for at least 5 years, appear to reduce the incidence of adenomas and CRC mortality. Those benefits apply not only for the general population but also for people with pre-existing adenomas and CRC history. Both the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 are implicated in the mechanism of action of aspirin and are important in the role of chemoprevention in CRC. However, in the neoplastic transformation, COX-2-positive, wild-type BRAF and PIK3CA-mutated tumors appear to be more sensitive to this agent.

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Gisah Guilgen declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Department of Oncology, Institute of Cancer and Transplant of Curitiba (ICTr)/Israeli Institute of Education and Research of Paraná (IEPIP), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    Gisah Guilgen

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  1. Gisah Guilgen
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Correspondence to Gisah Guilgen.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Personalized Medicine in Colorectal Cancer

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Guilgen, G. Reviewing the Role of Aspirin in Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer. Curr Colorectal Cancer Rep 11, 105–111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11888-015-0266-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11888-015-0266-5

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