An unassuming painkiller that most people have in their cupboard could help prevent the spread of cancer.
Experts might have cracked a groundbreaking – and affordable – aid in the fight against cancer – aspirin.
Scientists at the University of Cambridge discovered how aspirin may prevent some cancers from spreading.
The groundbreaking find was the ‘eureka moment’ for the team after previous evidence suggesting aspirin supports a boost in the immune system to help catch deadly cancer cells.
Clinical trials are already in full swing to see how aspirin could help stop cancer from returning.
Here is a roundup of how exactly aspirin – a drug invented in the late 19th century – works in the fight against cancer.
How aspirin tackles cancer cells
Although the test evidence looks positive, experts warned against patients suddenly taking aspirin without speaking to their doctor if they haven’t taken the medicine before.
Because it can have potential side-effects such as bleeding in the stomach, with experts reminding that the side-effects are far from trivial.
Dr Jie Yang, from the University of Cambridge, said the discovery was ‘a Eureka moment’ as before this the scientists were not ‘aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin.’
What aspirin does to cancer cells
To study the power of aspirin, the scientists first screened 810 genes in mice and found 15 that affected cancer spread.
Mice which didn’t have a gene producing a protein called ARHGEF1 were less likely to have cancer spread to the lungs and liver.
The ARHGEF1 suppresses an immune cell called T cell, which helps to recognise and kill cancer cells before they spread, known as metastatic cancer cells.
Surprisingly, the scientists found that ARHGEF1 switches on when T cells are exposed to a clotting factor called thromboxane A2 (TXA2).
So, what is the TXA2?
The clotting factor is produced by platelets in the blood. Aspirin is already known to cut the production of TXA2 – a desired effect, so that T cells are not suppressed and can destroy cancer cells instead.
When mice were given aspirin, the frequency of cancer spread was reduced compared with mice not on the drug. And depended on releasing T cells from suppression by TXA2, the research team found.
‘It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of inquiry than we had anticipated,’ Dr Yang said.
‘Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally.’
‘Unique window of opportunity’
Aspirin could target the ‘unique therapeutic window of opportunity’ when cancer first spreads, professor Rahul Roychoudhuri, from the University of Cambridge, who led the study, said.
He explained: ‘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.’
Now, the researchers are looking to see if aspirin can stop or delay early stage cancers from coming back as part of a trial at the university supported by Cancer Research UK.
The trial, called the Add-Aspirin clinical trial, includes patients with breast, oesophageal, stomach, prostate and bowel cancer.
Professor Ruth Langley at the University College London, who is leading the clinical trial with patients, said: ‘This is an important discovery. It will enable us to interpret the results of ongoing clinical trials and work out who is most likely to benefit from aspirin after a cancer diagnosis.
‘In a small proportion of people, aspirin can cause serious side-effects, including bleeding or stomach ulcers.
‘Therefore, it is important to understand which people with cancer are likely to benefit, and always talk to your doctor before starting aspirin.’
Cost of some cancer treatment can make it prohibitively expensive, leaving patients in limbo.
Mother-of-two Tracie Townsend-Mills, 54, had undergone several rounds of treatments after a devastating spread of cancer to her lymph nodes, chest wall and lungs.
Her only hope was a new toxic cancer drug called Enhertu – but it was found to be too expensive for the NHS to have.
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