Every day, around 29 million people in the U.S. take a low dose of aspirin as a blood thinner to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes. Aspirin prevents blood clots by stopping thrombocytes, also called platelets, from clumping together. Current research suggests aspirin may have another pharmacological benefit — the prevention of cancer progression.
Previous studies have shown that people taking low-dose aspirin had lower chances of metastasis in breast, bowel, and prostate cancer, inspiring researchers at the University of Cambridge to uncover the mechanism behind this effect. Their study, published in Nature, demonstrates how aspirin could reduce the metastasis of certain cancers by stimulating the immune system.
What Is the Metastatic Stage of Cancer
Metastasis occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor and spread to other parts of the body. Since 90 percent of cancer deaths occur once this latest stage (stage 4) is reached, metastasis is the most lethal aspect of cancer. Even patients treated in the early stages of their disease can still develop metastases months or even years later due to cancer cells that spread early, remain in a latent phase, and escape elimination during treatment.
The study of metastasis is crucial for preventing severe cancer outcomes. One approach is to attack cancer cells at their most vulnerable state — the moment the primary tumor releases single cells to initiate the metastasis process. At this stage, the immune system, which typically struggles to attack an established tumor, has a better chance of targeting individual cancer cells. This knowledge could be instrumental in future treatments.
Read More: What Is Aspirin and How Does It Work?
How Aspirin Led to a New Discovery
Combining their understanding of metastasis's weak point with recent findings on aspirin, the Cambridge research team discovered that aspirin enhances the immune system's ability to recognize and kill metastatic cells. This effect is achieved through aspirin’s ability to reduce the production of thromboxane A2 (TXA2), a blood clotting factor that suppresses T cell function. T cells, a key component of the immune system, are responsible for fighting infections and destroying cancer cells.
The study demonstrated that mice given aspirin had a lower frequency of metastasis compared to a control group. This finding provides mechanistic insights into aspirin’s anti-metastatic activity and paves the way for the development of more effective immunotherapies.
“It was a ‘Eureka’ moment when we found that TXA2 was the molecular signal activating this suppressive effect on T cells. Before this, we had not been aware of the implications of our findings in understanding aspirin’s anti-metastatic activity. It was an entirely unexpected discovery that led us down a different path of inquiry than we had anticipated,” said Jie Yang from the University of Cambridge in a press release.
A New Window of Opportunity
However, aspirin, like all medications, should not be taken without caution. Professor Ruth Langley, from the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College London and lead researcher of the Add-Aspirin clinical trial, emphasized in the press release, “in a small proportion of people, aspirin can cause serious side effects, including bleeding or stomach ulcers. Therefore, it is important to understand which cancer patients are likely to benefit and always consult a doctor before starting aspirin.”
Taking both safety and effectiveness into consideration, future clinical trials will be needed to test aspirin in treatment regimens for early cancer metastasis. This approach is particularly attractive due to aspirin’s low cost and widespread global availability, in contrast to expensive antibody-based therapies that require lengthy approval processes before patients can access them.
“Most immunotherapies are developed to treat patients with established metastatic cancer, but when cancer first spreads, there’s a unique therapeutic window of opportunity where cancer cells are particularly vulnerable to immune attack. We hope that therapies targeting this window of vulnerability will have tremendous potential in preventing recurrence in patients with early-stage cancer at risk of metastasis,” said study lead author Rahul Roychoudhuri from the University of Cambridge in the press release.
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
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Having worked as a biomedical research assistant in labs across three countries, Jenny excels at translating complex scientific concepts – ranging from medical breakthroughs and pharmacological discoveries to the latest in nutrition – into engaging, accessible content. Her interests extend to topics such as human evolution, psychology, and quirky animal stories. When she’s not immersed in a popular science book, you’ll find her catching waves or cruising around Vancouver Island on her longboard.
