A large clinical trial looking at the cancer preventive actions of aspirin is underway. The seven year study will include six regional centers from Victoria including Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Warrnambool, Traralgon and Shepparton. The ASPirin for Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study will involve about 19,000 participants from Australia and the United States.
According to one of the lead researchers Professor John McNeil, head of the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, there has been evidence that Aspirin can reduce cancer rates. He said, “The best evidence comes when we do a trial like this where we randomly allocate, just by the toss of a coin, for people to take aspirin or not take aspirin and then work out, look and observe how many cases of cancer occurred…That's the sort of evidence that doctors believe in and will change their practice as a result of it.”
The State Government has announced a $1.9 million funding for this study. The study is mainly backed by the National Institute of Health. According to Health Minister Daniel Andrews Victoria should participate in this study. He said, “When it comes to cancer, cancer is everybody's business…Everyday 70 Victorians are diagnosed with cancer, sadly 10,000 Victorians lose their life to cancer each year…That's every single Victorian right across the state touched by cancer, and it's therefore important that we try to run a proper cancer service system that benefits every single Victorian.”
History of endometriosis and fibroids linked to higher long-term risk of early death