--- description: Taking aspirin regularly for at least six years was associated with a 19% drop in risk for colon and rectum cancers title: Aspirin Is Linked To Lower Risk of Cancer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Cancer](/tag/cancer/) ## Cancer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Aspirin Is Linked to Lower Risk of Some Cancers  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 3, 2016 5:38 PM CUT  Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Mar 3, 2016 5:38 PM CUT A new [study](http://oncology.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2497878 "undefined") released Thursday finds that aspirin, taken regularly in low doses, is linked to a lower risk for cancer. In the research, published in _JAMA Oncology_, researchers examined the correlation between aspirin and cancer in about 136,000 people. The men and women analyzed were part of the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and their data was collected for up to 32 years. The researchers found that taking aspirin regularly—defined twice a week or more—for at least six years was associated with a 19% drop in risk for colon and rectum cancers, a 15% lower risk for gastrointestinal tract cancers and a 3% lower risk for cancers in general. They didn’t see a link between regular aspirin use and risk reduction for some other cancers, including cancers of the breast, prostate and lung. The benefits for GI cancers seemed to manifest even with a lower dose of aspirin, starting with half a standard aspirin tablet weekly. It’s not yet clear exactly why the effect appears to be so strong on cancers of the GI region. But the authors speculate that aspirin might be working in a way that’s critical to fighting the early production of tumors. Taking aspirin regularly could prevent anywhere from 8-17% of colorectal cancers in people older than 50, the authors conclude. However, other research shows that daily aspirin brings with it the risk of internal bleeding (see our earlier piece on [who should and who shouldn’t take a daily aspirin](http://time.com/91726/who-should-and-who-shouldnt-take-daily-aspirin/ "undefined")). There is also not enough evidence that the risks outweigh the benefits when it comes to [preventing a first heart attacks and stroke](http://time.com/3589576/daily-aspirin-may-not-prevent-heart-attacks/ "undefined"). People should weight the latest evidence with their doctors. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4246640/aspirin-colorectal-cancer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4246640/aspirin-colorectal-cancer/"},"headline":"Aspirin Is Linked to Lower Risk of Some Cancers","datePublished":"2016-03-03T17:38:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:36:13.423Z","description":"Taking aspirin regularly for at least six years was associated with a 19% drop in risk for colon and rectum cancers","url":"https://time.com/4246640/aspirin-colorectal-cancer/","keywords":["Cancer","aspirin"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8ec5e1b7b3a2ec1/6988604d428a9ee183ccebe6/rx-prescription-bottle-health-illo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock health rx prescription bottle drugs","caption":"TIME.com stock health rx prescription bottle drugs","creditText":"Illustration by Sydney Rae Hass for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cancer/","name":"Cancer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4246640/aspirin-colorectal-cancer/","name":"Aspirin Is Linked to Lower Risk of Some Cancers"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"An Apple And An Aspirin A Day?","description":"The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations for daily use of aspirin, and it's causing some controversy.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hcSWSq9K/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-15T16:46:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hcSWSq9K.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4246640/aspirin-colorectal-cancer/","duration":"PT1M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4246640/aspirin-colorectal-cancer/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```