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Original Article
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Volume 348:891-899 March 6, 2003 Number 10
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A Randomized Trial of Aspirin to Prevent Colorectal Adenomas
John A. Baron, M.D., Bernard F. Cole, Ph.D., Robert S. Sandler, M.D., Robert W. Haile, Dr.Ph., Dennis Ahnen, M.D., Robert Bresalier, M.D., Gail McKeown-Eyssen, Ph.D., Robert W. Summers, M.D., Richard Rothstein, M.D., Carol A. Burke, M.D., Dale C. Snover, M.D., Timothy R. Church, Ph.D., John I. Allen, M.D., Michael Beach, M.D., Ph.D., Gerald J. Beck, Ph.D., John H. Bond, M.D., Tim Byers, M.D., E. Robert Greenberg, M.D., Jack S. Mandel, Ph.D., Norman Marcon, M.D., Leila A. Mott, M.S., Loretta Pearson, M.Phil., Fred Saibil, M.D., and Rosalind U. van Stolk, M.D.

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ABSTRACT

Background Laboratory and epidemiologic data suggest that aspirin has an antineoplastic effect in the large bowel.

Methods We performed a randomized, double-blind trial of aspirin as a chemopreventive agent against colorectal adenomas. We randomly assigned 1121 patients with a recent history of histologically documented adenomas to receive placebo (372 patients), 81 mg of aspirin (377 patients), or 325 mg of aspirin (372 patients) daily. According to the protocol, follow-up colonoscopy was to be performed approximately three years after the qualifying endoscopy. We compared the groups with respect to the risk of one or more neoplasms (adenomas or colorectal cancer) at least one year after randomization using generalized linear models to compute risk ratios and 95 percent confidence intervals.

Results Reported adherence to study medications and avoidance of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs were excellent. Follow-up colonoscopy was performed at least one year after randomization in 1084 patients (97 percent). The incidence of one or more adenomas was 47 percent in the placebo group, 38 percent in the group given 81 mg of aspirin per day, and 45 percent in the group given 325 mg of aspirin per day (global P=0.04). Unadjusted relative risks of any adenoma (as compared with the placebo group) were 0.81 in the 81-mg group (95 percent confidence interval, 0.69 to 0.96) and 0.96 in the 325-mg group (95 percent confidence interval, 0.81 to 1.13). For advanced neoplasms (adenomas measuring at least 1 cm in diameter or with tubulovillous or villous features, severe dysplasia, or invasive cancer), the respective relative risks were 0.59 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.38 to 0.92) and 0.83 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.55 to 1.23).

Conclusions Low-dose aspirin has a moderate chemopreventive effect on adenomas in the large bowel.


Source Information

From the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N.H. (J.A.B., B.F.C., E.R.G.); Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, N.H. (J.A.B., R.R., M.B., E.R.G., L.A.M., L.P.); the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill (R.S.S.); the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles (R.W.H.); the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Denver (D.A.); the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver (D.A., T.B.); Henry Ford Health Sciences Center, Detroit (R.B.); the University of Toronto, Toronto (G.M.-E., N.M., F.S.); the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City (R.W.S.); the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland (C.A.B., R.U.S., G.J.B.); Fairview Southdale Hospital, Minneapolis (D.C.S.); the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (T.R.C.); the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis ( J.I.A., J.H.B.); Minnesota Gastroenterology, Minneapolis (J.I.A.); the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minneapolis ( J.H.B.); and the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta (J.S.M.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Baron at Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Evergreen Center, 46 Centerra Pkwy., Lebanon, NH 03766, or at john.a.baron{at}dartmouth.edu.

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Related Letters:

Aspirin and the Prevention of Colorectal Cancer
Berman K. S., Hassan Y., Cole B. F., Baron J. A.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2003; 348:2466-2467, Jun 12, 2003. Correspondence

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