Clues Found to Aspirin’s Benefit in Colon Cancer

Aspirin’s survival benefit in colon cancer correlated with the drug’s antiplatelet activity but was not associated with a common tumor mutation or an enzyme linked to cancer etiology and pathogenesis, an analysis of 1,000 tumor samples showed. Low-dose aspirin after colon cancer diagnosis was associated with 47% better survival in patients whose tumors expressed human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I, a marker of platelet activation and aggregation, in addition to immunologic activity). Aspirin use did not correlate with PI3KA mutation or expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2).