A new research study has shown that taking a small (75 mg) aspirin could significantly increase the abilities of your cancer treatment programme. It seems to stop the cancer cells producing a chemical which normally blocks any attack by the immune system. “It could be the cheapest form of effective immunotherapy known to man!” said Chris Woollams.
Let’s get it straight. We have long told you that a daily small aspirin is an important part of an Integrative Cancer Treatment (and prevention) Programme. Small is 75 mg in the UK; 81 in the USA.
Since John Vane won a Nobel Prize in 1982, we have known that aspirin can reduce the effect of an enzyme called Cox-2. When stimulated (typically by insulin, cortisol and even steroids) Vane showed that all the cells in your body were capable of making highly inflammatory hormones called eicosanoids. Yale Researchers have even shown this inflammation can affect two cancer-causing genes. Thus eating one big sugar-rich meal a day, and/or being stressed causes Cox-2 to make your cells inflamed.
We have also covered research from the Radcliffe Hospital and Oxford University showing that taking a small, dailyaspirin could help prevent cancer and, if you already have it, could increase survival significantly and even stop metastases. The researchers asked NICE to include aspirin as standard protocol in UK cancer treatment.
The new research led by Professor Caetano Reis e Sousa, from the Francis Crick Institute in London showed that aspirin could stop the cancer’s ability to hide from the immune system in mice. There is a growing body of evidence that some cancers produce a molecule called PGE2, (Prostaglandin E2, an eicosanoid) to block an attack by the immune system. Aspirin stops this molecule being produced. Therefore it stops cancer cells hiding from the immune system.
Clearly, more work is needed on humans, but given the small price of a little aspirin and its known anti-inflammatory action anyway, this really is a no-brainer for inclusion as part of an integrative programme. People must be careful if they have heart or blood problems, and the aspirin should always be taken with food to avoid the risk of stomach ulcers. Arguably, you can take the aspirin even if you are not having orthodox treatments at the time.