Three studies in the British medical journal The Lancet suggest that taking aspirin daily may lower the risk of cancer and reduce the chances of the disease spreading to other organs.
Both WebMD and the New York Times have excellent write-ups.
AICR’s focus is on the relationships of diet, nutrition, physical activity and weight to cancer. As such, we take no position on the effect of aspirin — a drug — on cancer risk, although we of course watch this research with interest.
The lifestyle-based cancer prevention strategies that AICR advocates — a plant-based diet, regular physical activity, staying at a healthy weight throughout life, combined with not smoking — have been shown, over decades of research, to confer real protection.
Will health experts one day recommend combining AICR’s recommendations with a daily aspirin for maximum protection? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we recommend concentrating on the healthy everyday choices about diet, weight and physical activity that can and will lower cancer risk, as well as other chronic diseases.
