Aspirin Underused for Advanced Colorectal Polyps

TUESDAY, Feb. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Aspirin is underused to reduce the risk for colorectal cancer among patients with advanced colorectal polyps, according to a study recently published in The American Journal of Medicine.

Noting that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, in the absence of a specific contraindication, recommends routine prescription of aspirin to patients with advanced colorectal polyps, Benjamin Fiedler, from the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences in New York City, and colleagues interviewed 84 men and women with biopsy-proven advanced colorectal polyps from 55 clinical practices to examine the prevalence of aspirin use.

Of the participants, 39 were men and 45 were women with a mean age of 66 years. The researchers found that 42.9 percent of the 84 patients reported taking aspirin.

"We believe the most plausible interpretation of the data to be that there is underutilization of aspirin in patients with biopsy proven advanced colorectal polyps, a major risk factor for colorectal cancer. These data pose major challenges requiring multifactorial approaches by clinicians and their patients which include therapeutic lifestyle changes and adjunctive drug therapies as well as screening," the authors write. "These multifactorial approaches will be necessary to achieve the most good for the most patients concerning prevention as well as early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer in patients with advanced colorectal polyps."

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, royalties for three textbooks, being named on patents for inflammatory markers and cardiovascular disease, and investment management relationships with the West-Bacon Group.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)