Sanford Markowitz
The humble aspirin may have just added another beneficial effect beyond its ability to ameliorate headaches and reduce the risk of heart attacks: lowering colon cancer risk among people with high levels of a specific type of gene.
The extraordinary finding comes from a multi-institutional team that analyzed data and other material from two long-term studies involving nearly 128,000 participants. The researchers found that individuals whose colons have high levels of a specific gene product—that is, the biologic materials expressed by the gene 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH)—dramatically reduce their chances of developing colorectal cancer by taking aspirin. In contrast, the analgesic provides no benefit to individuals whose colons show low levels of the gene product 15-PGDH. About half of the population possesses high levels of 15-PGDH.
The findings appear in the April 23 edition of Science Translational Medicine. While previous trials and prospective studies had indicated that aspirin could reduce colorectal cancer risk, this retrospective study provides the first evidence to help explain why aspirin benefits some people, but not others.
“If you looked at the folks from the study who had high 15-PGDH levels and took aspirin, they cut their risk of colon cancer by half,” said senior author Sanford Markowitz, the Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “If you looked at the folks from the study that were low for 15-PGDH, they did not benefit at all from taking aspirin. These findings represent a clean Yes-No about who would benefit from aspirin.”
The research team included researchers from Case Western Reserve, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
Sanford Markowitz
The humble aspirin may have just added another beneficial effect beyond its ability to ameliorate headaches and reduce the risk of heart attacks: lowering colon cancer risk among people with high levels of a specific type of gene.
The extraordinary finding comes from a multi-institutional team that analyzed data and other material from two long-term studies involving nearly 128,000 participants. The researchers found that individuals whose colons have high levels of a specific gene product—that is, the biologic materials expressed by the gene 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH)—dramatically reduce their chances of developing colorectal cancer by taking aspirin. In contrast, the analgesic provides no benefit to individuals whose colons show low levels of the gene product 15-PGDH. About half of the population possesses high levels of 15-PGDH.
The findings appear in the April 23 edition of Science Translational Medicine. While previous trials and prospective studies had indicated that aspirin could reduce colorectal cancer risk, this retrospective study provides the first evidence to help explain why aspirin benefits some people, but not others.
“If you looked at the folks from the study who had high 15-PGDH levels and took aspirin, they cut their risk of colon cancer by half,” said senior author Sanford Markowitz, the Ingalls Professor of Cancer Genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “If you looked at the folks from the study that were low for 15-PGDH, they did not benefit at all from taking aspirin. These findings represent a clean Yes-No about who would benefit from aspirin.”
The research team included researchers from Case Western Reserve, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.