Study: Aspirin may harm patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases
Previous studies have found it can reduce risk of recurrence in those with a genetic mutation
IN THE NEWS: The results of a phase 3 clinical trial indicate that a daily low-dose aspirin does not reduce recurrence of colorectal cancer liver metastases and may, in fact, increase the risk of death.
Dr. Jason Zell, a hematology-oncology and colon cancer specialist at UCI Health who was not involved in the clinical trial, spoke with Healio about why the results are disappointing. Prior studies have shown that aspirin can help improve the survival rates of patients with colon cancer that doesn’t metastasize in the liver.
Zell also highlighted the importance of testing for gene mutations, since previous research found that patients with cancer and mutations in the PI3K pathway reduced their risk of recurrence by taking aspirin.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network updated its guidelines in April to test for PIK3CA mutations in patients diagnosed with stage II or stage III colon cancer and, if positive, to treat with aspirin.
“At UCI Health, we’re doing exactly this. We’re trying to sequence every one of these patients and even go back several years and identify them and sequence, as well.”
Zell specializes in the prevention and treatment of colon and other gastrointestinal cancers at the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also an associate professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
A leading cancer researcher, Zell has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to perform genetic epidemiology-based colorectal cancer research. He is a principal or co-investigator for several NIH-funded trials involving patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. He is the author of more than 70 manuscripts and two book chapters.
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