An aspirin-a-day may keep certain cancers from spreading, a major study suggests.
The anti-inflammatory pill is known to suppress the molecule thromboxane A2 (TXA2), which is produced by the blood’s clotting factor, called platelets.
This anti-clotting molecule has led to 30million Americans taking the nine-cent pill to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
However, researchers at Cambridge University found that TXA2 can also suppress T cells, which are found in the immune system and destroy cancer cells.
By preventing TXA2 from forming, the team suggested, aspirin would not only prevent blood clots but also keep cancer cells from growing and spreading to other areas of the body.
The Cambridge experts said their ‘eureka moment’ could lead to doctors prescribing aspirin to cancer patients to keep their disease from spreading and eventually form the foundation for newer, more effective cancer drugs.
However, they cautioned that the research is still early and aspirin has been linked to serious issues like internal bleeding in some patients, so patients should ask their doctor before taking it.
The study, published in a medical journal this week, comes as nine in 10 cancer deaths occur when the disease spreads to other areas of the body, the team said.
Researchers from Cambridge University found mice who were given the cheap pill aspirin had a lower risk of cancers like melanoma spreading to other areas of the body (stock image)
Lead study author Dr Jie Yang of Cambridge University said: ‘It was a eureka moment when we found TXA2 was the molecular signal that activates this suppressive effect on T cells. Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin.
‘It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of enquiry than we had anticipated.’
In the new study, researchers screened 810 genes in mice and looked at 15 they believe influenced how cancer spreads.
In particular, they found that mice lacking a gene that produces the protein ARHGEF1 had less metastasis, or spread, of cancers to the liver or the lungs. They found this is because ARHGEF1 suppresses T cells when exposed to TXA2.
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Because it's well known that aspirin suppresses TXA2, the team decided to give mice with the skin cancer melanoma aspirin in their drinking water.
The team found mice on aspirin were less likely to have their cancer spread to the lungs or liver than mice in the control group due to the reactivation of T cells.
Study author Professor Rahul Roychoudhuri of Cambridge University said treatments like aspirin could keep cancer from advancing to later stages better than other methods like surgery or immunotherapy.
He said: 'Most immunotherapies are developed to treat patients with established metastatic cancer, but when cancer first spreads there’s a unique therapeutic window of opportunity when cancer cells are particularly vulnerable to immune attack.
'We hope that therapies that target this window of vulnerability will have tremendous scope in preventing recurrence in patients with early cancer at risk of recurrence.'
The over-the-counter medication is typically used to reduce inflammation and make blood less thick, reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke (stock image)
Researchers said the findings build on recent research suggesting aspirin may prevent cancers like colon cancer.
In a study published last August, people who took aspirin were one-third less likely to develop colon cancer in their lifetime than those who didn't.
And another 2024 study found aspirin increased levels of CD80, a protein linked to higher immune cell activity.
They were also found to have fewer cancerous cells around the lymph nodes - small bean-shaped structures that are part of the body's immune system - and more immune cells circulating within tumors.
Experts believe this is because aspirin blocks the production of the enzyme COX-2, which makes inflammatory proteins called prostaglandins.
These have been shown to promote the growth of cancer cells in the colon, breasts, lungs, stomach, and skin.
The US Preventive Services Task Force nearly recommended all adults ages 50 to 59 - the most at risk for colorectal cancer - take a low dose of aspirin every day to ward off the disease.
However, in a small number of patients, aspirin can increase the risk of internal bleeding and stomach ulcers.
The Cambridge researchers said more research is needed in humans but the findings are encouraging so far.
They said: 'Aspirin, or other drugs that target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally.'