Preclinical and clinical studies provide evidence for aspirin as a preventative agent for cancer. Compelling direct evidence supports a chemopreventive effect of aspirin in individuals at high risk of developing colorectal cancer due to Lynch syndrome, while indirect evidence indicates that aspirin may reduce the risk of and mortality from sporadic colorectal cancer. There is weaker evidence for a protective effect of aspirin against all cancers taken as a group. Nevertheless, the results of recent retrospective cohort studies consistently indicate a beneficial effect of aspirin as a chemopreventive or adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Epidemiologic studies conducted in the general population or in selected populations at higher risk for HCC reveal that regular aspirin use is associated with reduced HCC incidence. In addition, aspirin may act as an adjuvant to other therapies in reducing HCC recurrence. According to studies in animal models, the cancer-preventative effect of aspirin may be related to its antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory activities. Prospective studies are warranted to determine whether aspirin should be recommended to diverse populations of patients at risk for HCC.
©2021 American Association for Cancer Research.