Can aspirin reduce relapse and death rate with colorectal cancer?
Background
Patients with colon and rectal cancer who take aspirin after being diagnosed appear to live longer than those who do not. This needs to be tested in a clinical trial to conclusively determine whether aspirin improves survival without adding significant side effects.
The research
Dr Segelov is leading a multinational randomised phase III trial, called the ASCOLT study, to answer this question. This research will compare cancer relapse and survival of people with colorectal cancer who receive aspirin compared to those taking a placebo. ASCOLT is the first randomised study of aspirin for cancer survival and is recognised internationally as the exemplar aspirin trial.
The impact
If aspirin is shown to reduce cancer relapse and death rates, the results of this trial will change practice across the world, including developing countries, as aspirin is cheap, accessibly and quite safe.