More Benefits From Aspirin Therapy

Aspirin, the century-old drug that relieves headaches and helps to prevent heart attacks and strokes, may also cut the risk of developing lung cancer, scientists said on Tuesday.

Smoking is the cause of most cases of lung cancer but researchers at New York University School of Medicine have discovered that taking aspirin regularly may have a protective effect against the disease, which is a top cancer killer.

"Not smoking is by far the best way to avoid lung cancer, but our study suggests that regular aspirin use could also confer some degree of protection against the disease," said the school's Dr. Arslan Akhmedkhanov.

The scientists questioned 14,000 women in New York about their long-term use of aspirin and compared the medical histories of 81 women who developed lung cancer and more than 800 who didn't.

Smoking was the biggest factor in the development of the disease but the scientists found women who took aspirin regularly had less than half the normal risk of suffering from non-small lung cancer -- the most common form of the disease.

"We need larger-scale research to confirm the results of this study, but it's certainly consistent with other evidence for the health benefits of the drug," said Akhmedkhanov, whose research is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

Studies have also shown that aspirin, one of the world's most popular drugs, may also help to protect against prostate cancer and researchers are also conducting studies into its impact on bowel and oesophageal cancers.