Aspirin a life–saver for cancer patients

ASPIRIN can reduce the chances of dying from bowel cancer by almost a third, research has shown.

Patients who took a daily dose of the painkiller for at least nine months after being diagnosed cut the likelihood of the disease killing them by 30 per cent. Taking aspirin for any length of time after diagnosis reduced the odds of dying from cancer by 23 per cent.

The study looked at 4,500 bowel cancer patients in the Netherlands diagnosed between 1998 and 2007.

Lead researcher Dr Gerrit-Jan Liefers said: “These results could be a big advance in treatment.”