Aspirin therapy’s ability to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, an association seen in a large number of studies, appears to depend on the drug’s inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme, the action that also underlies aspirin’s usefulness for treating pain and inflammation. In the May 24 New England Journal of Medicine, investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital report that regular aspirin intake only reduced the incidence of colorectal tumors that overexpress COX-2.
