Besides relieving headaches, fever, pain and swelling, aspirin also may help ward off various cancers of the digestive tract, lowering your risk by 22 to 38 percent, according to new research published in Annals of Oncology. Based on an analysis of 113 studies from 2011 through March 2019, the research found that people who took at least one or two aspirin a week were less likely than those who took no aspirin to develop colorectal cancer (27 percent reduced risk), esophageal cancer (33 percent), stomach cancer (36 percent), pancreatic cancer (22 percent) and cancer of the liver, gallbladder and bile duct, known as hepatobilliary cancer (38 percent). For all types, the longer people had taken aspirin, the better their odds of not developing the cancer. In some cases, dosage made a difference, with higher dosage creating lower risk, especially for colorectal cancer.
Don’t use the findings of this study to start popping aspirin, however. It can cause internal bleeding, especially in the stomach and also in the brain. You are advised to not take aspirin, at any dosage or frequency, unless it has been prescribed by your doctor who can evaluate your risk
—
