Aging and Aspirin: No Cancer Prevention Benefit, Possible Rise in Cancer Deaths
In over 19,000 older adults followed for about a decade, low-dose aspirin did not reduce cancer incidence and was linked to higher cancer mortality (overall hazard ratio ~1.15). In the ASPREE extension, cancer incidence and mortality were similar between aspirin and placebo, though aspirin users had fewer melanomas and a small, early-in-follow-up rise in brain cancer; some rare cancer deaths were also more common. The findings are not definitive, and longer follow-up is planned to clarify aspirin’s effects on cancer outcomes in older people.