Aspiring improves effectiveness of cancer treatment

Adding aspirin to some existing cancer drugs could increase their effectiveness against a group of tumours resistant to treatment, scientists are hoping clinical trials could soon be underway for people with lung, pancreatic and colorectal cancers that have not responded to other therapies.

Cancers driven by mutations in a group of genes, known as RAS, had a low response to treatments with currently no drug directly targeting them. The group of tumours includes some pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers with very low survival rates, as well as a small percentage of melanomas.
Addition of aspirin to a cancer inhibitor drug, Sorafenib, strongly enhanced its effectiveness against mouse models of lung cancer and melanoma with RAS mutations.

In a multicentre phase three trial for non-small cell lung cancer, Sorafenib alone showed a marginal improvement for patients. Latest research suggests its combination with aspirin could benefit patients with RAS mutations who don't otherwise respond to other treatments.
The drug combination could potentially reduce the dose of Sorafenib required, improving quality of life for patients by reducing adverse impacts that can lead some patients to stop treatment.

Combining it with a relatively high dose of aspirin, two molecular processes are activated and together they work to kill RAS mutant cancer cells. This dual activation also might prevent the tumours acquiring resistance to the treatment, which can happen when the inhibitor drug is given alone.
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Snake venom may replace aspiring for heart disease treatment

Snake venom may replace aspirin as a protein found in the poison of a species native to south-east Asia thins the blood without side effects.

The protein in snake venom slowed the rate of blood clot formation in mice. It
did not cause excessive bleeding, which is a common side effect of existing treatments.

Blood-thinning medications, also known as anti-platelet drugs, prevent specific blood cells from clumping together and forming clots.

Venom of the Tropidolaemus waglerix snake contains a protein, known as trowaglerix, that latches on to the receptor, called GPVI, to block its blood-clotting actions.

The protein was mixed with blood and given to mice. The result shows that the treated mice had slower blood clot formation than animals that did not receive the therapy.

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Aspiring not effective for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients

Atrial fibrillation (A-fib) is a condition of irregular heartbeat, it can leads to cardiovascular events like: stroke, blood clots and heart failure.

The most common treatment for A-fib patients is prescribing anticoagulants, or blood thinners. Some people with A-fib may also have a catheter ablation - a medical procedure that uses energy to damage a small part of heart tissue, thus stopping abnormal electrical signals from traveling through the heart.

Some of the risks associated with cardiac catheter ablation include bleeding or blood vessel damage.

However, as Dr. Jared Bunch - the lead author of the new research - explains, when patients with A-fib have had an ablation and also have a low risk of stroke, physicians prefer to treat them with aspirin instead of blood thinners in order to further reduce the risk of stroke.

In the new study, Dr. Bunch and his colleagues examined the effect of long-term aspirin use on patients with A-fib who underwent an ablation.

Putting their new research into perspective, Dr. Bunch explains, "What was unknown was if aspirin was a safe and effective stroke prevention treatment after an ablation in lower-risk AF [atrial fibrillation] patients.

Aspirin has no benefit for stroke prevention in patients with A- fib. The study examined 4,124 patients with A-fib over a period of 3 years. The participants had a low risk of stroke, and they had undergone catheter ablation.

Dr Bunch and colleagues discovered that patients that used aspiring were significantly more likely to have gastrointestinal and genitourinary bleeding than those who took anticoagulants such as warfarin, or compared with those who did not receive any treatment.

Aspiring can lower risk of breast cancer

Regular use of low-dose of aspirin can reduce the risk of breast cancer by 20 percent.

Researchers discovered a protective link between low-dose of aspirin and breast cancer," said lead author Christina A. Clarke, Ph.D., M.P.H., from the Cancer Prevention Institute of California.

Aspiring is a weak aromatase inhibitor, breast cancer is treated with stronger aromatase inhibitors since they reduce the amount of estrogen postmenopausal.

 Aromatase  reduces the development of cancer, improves cancer treatment and reduces the risk of cancer development.
 Researchers analyzed data recorded in questionnaires submitted by 57,164 women in the California's Teacher's Study.

In 2005, participants answered questions regarding family history of cancer and other conditions like use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and other necessary conditions. Before 2013, 1,457 of these participants developed invasive breast cancer.