Regular Aspirin Use May Increase Risk of Cancer Death: Study

Data has resulted in multiple warnings about daily aspirin use by older patients, finding that it gives fewer protective benefits than once believed.

New research suggests that daily low-dose aspirin may increase the risk of dying from cancer in older adults, even if it does not raise the likelihood of developing cancer in the first place.

According to findings published in the journal JAMA Oncology on January 29, researchers reported that older adults who took low-dose aspirin regularly did not face higher overall cancer rates, but did experience an increased risk of cancer-related death. Based on those results, the study authors advised against putting older adults on long-term aspirin regimens solely to prevent cancer.

For years, doctors have recommended daily low-dose aspirin to help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Previous research has also suggested that long-term aspirin use among middle-aged adults may lower the risk of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer, after about a decade of use. 

However, the new findings raise questions about whether those benefits extend to older adults.

Led by Dr. Suzanne G. Orchard of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, the study analyzed data from more than 19,000 adults over age 70 enrolled in the ASPREE trial in the United States and Australia. The participants had no history of cardiovascular disease, dementia or physical disability at the start of the study.

From 2010 to 2017, participants were randomly assigned to take either a daily 100 mg low-dose aspirin or a placebo, with follow-up continuing through 2024. During that time, researchers recorded 3,448 new cancer diagnoses and 1,173 cancer-related deaths.

The results showed that aspirin use did not increase the overall risk of developing cancer, as diagnoses were nearly evenly split between the aspirin and placebo groups. However, the study found that certain cancer outcomes were worse among aspirin users. Participants taking aspirin were more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage cancers, including a higher number of brain cancer cases. Although these cancers were rare, the risk was higher in the aspirin group, along with a higher combined death rate from uncommon cancers.

Most notably, researchers observed a 15% increase in cancer-related deaths among aspirin users. A total of 623 participants in the aspirin group died after a cancer diagnosis, compared to 550 deaths in the placebo group.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that long-term aspirin use should not be recommended as a cancer prevention strategy for older adults. While the results do not completely rule out potential benefits of low-dose aspirin, they suggest that any protective effect seen in younger populations may not apply later in life.

Daily Aspirin Use Concerns

While medical advice has long advocated for the use of daily low-dose aspirin among patients with cardiovascular disease, previous research has also warned of potential side effects, with several involving the same study and data set.

An earlier review of data from the ASPREE study concluded taking daily low-dose aspirin does not help prevent cardiovascular side effects unless a patient has risk factors like heart disease or suffered a previous stroke. More so, it may lead to an increased risk of brain clots.

Another study published in 2024 suggested taking daily aspirin offered no protective benefit against breast cancer. Patients taking daily aspirin did not have improved breast cancer survival rates.

Additionally, findings taken from a different arm of the ASPREE study concluded elderly patients taking daily low-dose aspirin faced an increased risk of suffering serious falls. Aspirin also failed to reduce an older person’s risk of suffering fractures when they fell.

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