Embargoed for Release Until: Sunday, October 11, 1998, 6:00 p.m. Contact: Dana Victor Montenegro 202/973-5871 or [email protected]
Promising New Study Suggests Role for Aspirin in Preventing Colon Cancer
Boston, MA, October 11, 1998 -- Aspirin was found to have a significant impact on two important "biomarkers" for colon cancer in rats exposed to a potent carcinogen according to researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. This new study was released today at the 63rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology and supported by the San Antonio Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Makau Lee, MD, PhD, and Ammar Hemaidan, MD, whose earlier research had concluded that continuous aspirin use significantly reduced tumor incidence and size in rats treated with dimethylhyrdazine or DMH (a potent carcinogen associated with colon cancer), designed a study to examine possible mechanisms of aspirin's potential for cancer prevention. They measured the effect of aspirin on cell proliferation and the expression of Transforming Growth Factor Alpha (TGFalpha) in the lining of the colon for rats treated with DMH and others in a control group.
Researchers observed a significant increase in proliferating cell nuclear antigen and TGF in rats exposed to DMH, revealing early cell proliferation predictive of colon cancer. These factors were significantly reduced by aspirin to the levels of non-DMH-treated rats. Aspirin did not have a significant effect on these two biomarkers in non-DMH-treated rats. According to Dr. Lee, the ability of aspirin to suppress cell proliferation in rats is a promising development, but needs to be studied in humans.
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