Press Trust of India Taking aspirin can boost the survival of cancer patients and reduce the risk of the disease spreading to others parts of the body, say scientists.

Researchers analysed 71 medical studies, which looked at the survival of 120,000 patients with cancer who took aspirin, compared with 400,000 patients who did not. They showed that at any time following the diagnosis of some cancers, the proportion of patients who were still alive was 20-30 per cent greater in those taking the drug. The spread of cancer to other parts of the body was also substantially reduced in patients using aspirin.

“The use of low-dose aspirin as a preventive in heart disease, stroke and cancer is well established but evidence is now emerging that the drug may have a valuable role as an additional treatment for cancer too,” said Peter Elwood, from Cardiff University in the UK.

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