Researchers Dr. Zigang Dong and Associate Director Dr. Ann M. Bode of the Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, have shown that COX-2 an enzyme known to cause chronic inflammation throughout the body which can lead to cancer, especially colorectal cancer, drives the formation of tumors, at least in part, through the up-regulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).
Taking aspirin reduces a person’s risk of colorectal cancer, by calming COX-2.
EGFR is overexpressed in about 80 percent of cases involving colorectal cancer.
The Hormel Institute partnered with Mayo Clinic. The report noted that ‘consistent clinical trial data strongly suggests that regular use of aspirin and other non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs lowers a person’s lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer’. (EBioMedicine),