NY Times OpEd piece on aspirin and BC

gemini4

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/20/opinion/a-cancer-treatment-in-your-medicine-cabinet.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

Interesting.  I've read here that some take aspirin as a complementary therapy. I bought a bottle myself but haven't started taking it because I don't know exactly how to take it. 

One thing in the article that is not entirely accurate ... It mentions the cost of hormone therapy as being a barrier for some BC patients. Within the last year, a provision of the ACA has mandated that my tamoxifen be fully covered by my insurance. I pay zero when I fill my tamoxifen rx. Not sure if this has been implemented statewide in the US. 

juneping

i only know aspirin has the blood thinning property....sounds pretty good from the article. But def check with your doc. Once a week is pretty easy tho.

And I pay 15 for my tamoxifen monthly.  

deb1973

Thanks for posting this article!  I've been wondering what others' thoughts were on this article.  I've been taking the 81 mg baby aspirin 4 times a week, but noticed in the comments section for the article that many of the trials use 250 mg doses.  I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on whether the 81 mg is effective.  I guess I will bring this up with my doctor on my next visit.

edited to correct typo re: dosage:)

farmerlucy

Thanks for the post Gemini. I read it twice but didn't see any info re:dosage. Did I miss it? I used to take aspirin all the time, but stopped about ten years ago. Hmmm. 

YoungTurkNYC

My onc put me on the aspirin. The dosage is individual.  I starting bruising easily on the 325 mg per day, so I now take it every other day. No more bruising.

Tinkerbells

Young Turk - when dod you start?  I had always intended to start a baby aspirin every other day regardless of what the onc said - but I thought I would start after chemo/recon

Is there anyone in active treatment who takes it?  From what I could see from past studies, it appears the anti-inflammatory properties of the aspirin that might give it an anti-cancer effect.  But the study in the UK will give more information and clarify.

deb1973

farmer lucy,

i didn't see anything re: dose in the main article either.  the statement about dosage was in the readers' comments section so i'm not sure how reliable it is.

thanks,

deb

gemini4

The reason my bottle of 85mg aspirin remains unopened is I don't know how much to take and how often to take it!  I have an annual physical with my PCP tomorrow, and I will ask her then. 

edwards750

I have not seen an 85mg. I take the low dosage aspirin of 81mg. I was told 325 mg would cause bleeding issues. I take 1 a day as prescribed by my dr because I had a brother who died suddenly@50. A full autopsy was not done because he was an organ donor so my dr said it was probably heart issues thus the aspirin. Diane 

YoungTurkNYC

I started a couple of months after I started Femara. You are correct; you should not take aspirin during chemo or you still have to go through surgeries.  You also need to stop taking aspirin about two weeks prior to any surgeries you may need to have. For instance, I still have some recon left, and I will be stopping the aspirin two weeks prior.  My onc said one baby aspirin a day is fine.  I am doing 325mg right now because it also helps with the inflammatory condition I have in my hip.

lekker

Here's a link to the the full study report. It's free.

http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/28/9/1467.full

NatsFan

My onc put me on one baby aspirin daily a few years ago, based on some early studies she'd seen. 

robsp

There is session at ASCO 2014 about this aspirin clinical trial, see the abstract below. They will try 100 or 300 mg daily.  Maybe someone know a MO that will participate of  this session that will be this Sunday, June 1 , and can bring us more information. 

http://meetinglibrary.asco.org/content/133218-144

Add-Aspirin trial: A phase III, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial assessing the effects of aspirin on disease recurrence and survival after primary therapy in common nonmetastatic solid tumors.

Background: Pre-clinical data demonstrate that aspirin
inhibits tumour growth and prevents metastases. Meta-analyses of
individual patient data from randomized trials evaluating cardiovascular
(CV) effects of aspirin show reduced metastases and cancer deaths for
those on aspirin. Toxicity concerns have limited aspirin use as a
primary anti-cancer prevention agent. In the adjuvant setting, the
risk:benefit ratio differs, with higher morbidity and mortality from
recurrence potentially outweighing risks. Aspirin, an inexpensive drug
with a potential therapeutic role in several common cancers, could have a
large impact on the global cancer burden. The Add-Aspirin trial
investigates if aspirin use after curative treatment for non-metastatic
solid tumours prevents recurrence and prolongs survival.

Methods:
Add-Aspirin is a double blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre,
international trial. Eligible participants (n=9,920) from the UK and
India will have had potentially curative treatment for non-metastatic
cancer. There are 4 separate tumour cohorts – breast (BC), colorectal
(CRC), gastro-oesophageal (GOC) and prostate cancer (PC). Following an 8
week active run-in period of aspirin 100mg daily to assess adherence
and tolerability, participants are randomised to aspirin 100mg, 300mg or
placebo daily for > 5 years. Each tumour specific cohort is
individually powered and has a separate disease-specific primary outcome
measure: BC (n = 3,100) invasive disease-free survival (DFS); CRC (n =
2,600) DFS; GOC (n = 2,100) overall survival (OS); and PC (n = 2,120)
biochemical recurrence-free survival. Secondary outcome measures include
adherence, toxicity and CV events. OS across the 4 cohorts is a
co-primary outcome measure. Sub-studies include assessment of
thromboxane B2 for compliance and methodological work to assess the
utility of long-term passive follow up. Blood/tissue specimens collected
at enrolment will allow tumour-specific mutations to be used as
stratification factors. Recruitment will commence by May 2014. Funder
CRUK; Sponsor University College UK. Clinical trial information:
2013-004398-28.

farmerlucy

Great info robsp. Thanks!

mfm48

Thanks for posting this.  I started taking 81mg of baby aspirin about a month ago when I read an article that said (and I am paraphrasing) that sometimes tumor recurrence is because the root of the tumor lives quietly until fed and aspirin attacks that root.  Or something like that.  It was enough for me. I had a recurrence in the reconstructed breast just under the skin after 3 years on tamoxifen.  The onc team had no explanation for the recurrence. After chemo and radiation I am now on AI's and the aspirin can't hurt! 

april485

I have been taking 1 81mg aspirin a day for the last 4 years due to a family history of blood clots and stroke. My PCP had me add it to my daily regimen of multivitamin and Vitamin D. It can't hurt but as mentioned above, always stop taking it before any surgery (for at least a week my doc told me) and even dental surgery if you are having any extractions. Am curious about this study and find it comforting.

robsp

Some information about Aspirin Trial at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2013.

Poster about this trial

http://sabcs.posterview.com/PDFs/OT2-4-01.pdf

Dr Ring talks to ecancertv at SABCS 2013 about the 'Add-aspirin trial'.

http://ecancer.org/video/2604/aspirin-trialled-for...

farmerlucy

Excellent links! I'm going to start a low dose aspirin today. Thanks so much!

cp418

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2014/06/02/can-aspirin-reduce-breast-cancer-deaths-is-pharma-to-blame-for-ignoring-such-studies/

Can Aspirin Reduce Breast Cancer Deaths? Is Pharma To Blame For Ignoring Such Studies?

DivineMrsM

I am allergic to aspirin. It's an allergy I developed as an adult, as I took aspirin when I was younger. I sometimes wonder if not taking aspirin was something that worked against me leading to the bc diagnosis.  I also have an allergy to ibuprofen and naproxen sodium (aleve), all of these are supposedly anti-inflamatories.  They say bc is caused by inflamation; if I am allergic to these meds, perhaps inflamation contributed to an environment where bc could form and/or grow.  Just some musings of mine.

QCA

You and I share an allergy, Divine Miss M.  I had an angioedema reaction to Advil and was told never to take any aspirin or aspirin derivative--allergic to NSAIDS.  I also took aspirin earlier in life with no problems.  Odd how one can suddenly develop such an allergy, but it does happen and I have the same thoughts as you about if it could have contributed to the breast cancer.

Kathy

Blessings2011

I've been on 81 mg of aspirin for at least ten years due to family hx of heart disease.

It makes me bruise easily and bleed copiously. There's no way I could handle a larger dose.

Perhaps this regime helped slow down the tumor growth prior to the time I was finally dx'd? 

Betty14

Gemini,

         thank you kindly for the awesome link. I did buy a bottle of aspirin to use on a pimple I had on my face. I had heard somewhere that if you crush some aspirin and add water to make a paste you can use it to treat pimples as it has anti-inflammatory properties. I also heard that if someone is showing the first symptoms of a heart attack you should give them an aspirin as this can potentially save their life. I asked an ambulance officer is this was true and he said yes.

  Now it seems that aspirin is also helpful for ppl with bc....and it makes sense to me. There's no harm in trying but I do worry a little about the possibility of gastro bleeding. I think however that one tablet a week of aspirin couldn't possible be risky. It's funny how my mind works...it will always find something to worry about....I guess it's the nature of my anxiety I can't help it. Just wondering if anyone else is concerned about taking aspirin and keeping the dosage low to be safe?

 I have to add....I just spoke to my dr and asked her if it's ok for me to take aspirin and she said yes and when I asked her what dosage was safe she said 100mg tablet once a week. She told me she has patients on aspirin for stroke prevention and heart attack prevention and the only complaint she's had is that sometimes a patient will notice that they bruise easier than they used to . It was very lucky that my dr was contacting me today to inform me about something else and I was able to squeeze in my aspirin questions. She also said she felt confident that I wouldn't have any problems on aspirin as I didn't have any obvious gastro problems,.  ...I'm so glad I found this post today.

thanks again:)

lyzzysmom

Aspirin have always agreed with me so after reading this it makes a lot of sense and seems such a simple precaution. I took one but will have to get the low dose. It looks like it will be an aspirin a day and a smoothie with flax seed unless my oncotype DX comes back next week with a high number and I have to postpone my scheduled rads and do chemo...

My ex however was told he could never take another aspirin after he developed a severe reaction in his twenties.

heartnsoul76

When I was diagnosed in 2010, the relationship between aspirin and breast cancer was in the news.  I asked my MO what she thought about it - she is also a hematologist - and she told me to take the low-dose (81 mg) baby aspirin every other day.  That way you get a consistent benefit but reduce the risk of gastro bleeding, problems with clotting and bruising.

Something so simple and affordable that could help breast cancer patients should be shouted from the rooftops.

DivineMrsM

bettylovestrees, how did the crushed aspirin work for the pimple?

gemini4

Aspirin contains salicylic acid, which is the active ingredient in many acne and exfoliating skincare products. If you google "aspirin mask," you'll find websites that explain how to do this. An old friend of mine used to make a solution of rubbing alcohol and aspirin to treat acne.  I tried it -- the alcohol made it very harsh and drying, but it did blast away the zits (but it also caused the skin to peel and flake away).  It would probably work great if applied with a q-tip to a single blemish (especially a cystic bump). 

gemini4

hey there, lyzzysmom -- fingers crossed that you'll have an OncoType score in the low range!  I know this is an unscientific observation of my own at this board, but it does seem that many of us ILC gals have lower OncoType score results.  So hopefully that will be the case with you -- please post when you find out!  Also, there's an ILC Warriors thread if you're interested in connecting with others with ILC. 

:-)

Fallleaves

Thanks for the reminder to take some baby aspirin every other day! I had been doing that after reading about a study that showed a 60 % lower risk of metastasis and 71% lower risk of death from BC in women taking aspirin 3 to 5 times a week. Most women in the study were taking the low dose (81 mg) aspirin. (Lately I had forgotten why I was taking it, so apparently aspirin has no benefit for brain functioning....)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/he'althnews/72601...

Betty14

Hello Divine Mrs M,

                                       the aspirin dried out the pimple and eased the itchy burning sensation so it dried up and got flat. I can say it was a success. Since I hit menopause I started getting chin pimples hence the aspirin pimple remedy. I believe I saw it on tele..the Drs show....I forget the name of the tv show... it had 3 Drs that give advice ..one of them is a plastic surgeon and then there is also a lady gyno and another Dr and they all give advice on things medical.