Aspirin could treat prostate cancer – or just mask symptoms

Published on Sunday 16 November 2008 20:52

ASPIRIN can reduce the symptoms of prostate cancer, American scientists have found.

The news could be a significant breakthrough in the treatment of the disease, which kills 10,000 UK men every year.

Men already diagnosed with the cancer who were given a daily dose of aspirin or another anti-inflammatory, such as ibuprofen, had reduced levels of prostate specific antigens (PSA), a protein used as an indication of the severity of the disease.

But scientists are still not sure whether the findings actually mean an improvement in the disease. The pill could be reducing PSA levels without impacting on the cancer. Alarmingly, if this is the case, men who regularly take aspirin may be masking the symptoms of the cancer.

It could also mean that doctors, who use PSA levels to determine treatment, may be postponing live-saving operations.

The research, part of the Nashville Men's health study, involved 1,277 men. Just under half, 46 per cent, were given a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen or aspirin. The majority, 37 per cent, were given aspirin.

The use of aspirin resulted in a 9 per cent drop in PSA levels, the researchers said.

The biggest reduction appeared in men who had already been diagnosed with prostate cancer – a suggestion that it was treating the cancer rather than the symptoms.

The normal level of PSA increases naturally with age and high levels can indicate a prostate condition that is not cancer or is benign.