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"Studies show contrasting results on aspirin"

Source: CTV.CA

Published: 05 Jul 2022

Category: Pharmaceutical

Rating: (2½ stars)

what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

CHICAGO - Men who took aspirin over five years slightly lowered their risk for prostate cancer, but women who took low doses over 10 years didn't reduce their risk of cancer, two separate studies indicate.

The conflicting results don't help settle the debate about whether aspirin and similar anti-inflammatory medicines could be used to prevent cancer. Doctors familiar with the research think different study designs and aspirin doses explain the contrasting findings.

"I don't think we have a final story on aspirin" and its effects on cancer, said Dr. Peter Greenwald, director of cancer prevention at the National Cancer Institute, which helped fund the Women's Health Study.

The original article can be found at: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20050705/aspirin_cancer_050705/20050705/

The original article can found in the Media Doctor archives.

how did it rate? (more information)

Criteria	Rating
Total Score	5 of 10
Availability of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Novelty of Treatment	Satisfactory (?)
Disease Mongering	Satisfactory (?)
Treatment Options	Satisfactory (?)
Costs of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)
Evidence	Satisfactory (?)
Quantification of Benefits of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)
Harms of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)
Sources of Information	Not Satisfactory (?)
Relies on Press Release	Not Applicable
Quantification of Harms of Treatment	Not Satisfactory (?)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This report of several studies of the role of aspirin, other NSAIDS and vitamin E in preventing or causing cancer scores high in assessing the quality of the studies. However, benefits are only quantified in relative terms (18% less likely to get prostate cancer or 24% reduction in cardiovasclar death in women who took vitamin E.) While it is well-known that aspirin and other NSAIDS can cause severe side effects, such as gastrointestinal bleeding, it would be useful to know the potential magnitude of those harms.

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