Long-term daily aspirin Phase III trial will establish if aspirin can prevent recurrence of cancer

A clinical trial has been launched in the UK to establish whether daily aspirin can stop or delay the recurrence of cancers that were previously caught and treated at an early stage.

Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research have funded the Phase III trial. Fiona Reddington, Cancer Research UK’s head of population research, said the trial "is especially exciting as cancers that recur are often harder to treat, so finding a cheap and effective way to prevent this is potentially game-changing for patients.”

The study has a targeted enrollment of 11,000 patients who have recently been treated for, or are currently being treated for, breast, colorectal, esophagus, prostate or stomach cancer. The trial will run for up to 12 years and patients will be assigned daily aspirin at either 100mg or 300mg or placebo for five years before five further years of active follow-up.