Could a daily aspirin lower your breast cancer risk?

Popping an aspirin every day could lower your risk of breast cancer, according to a new study.

The research, published in the journal Laboratory Investigation has found that low dose aspirin could reduce the ability for breast cancer cells to renew.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women, accounting for 28 per cent of all new cancers in women, according to government organisation, Cancer Australia.

During the study in mice, scientists incubated breast cancer cells in 96 separate dishes, exposing each to various doses of aspirin. They found that aspirin either killed breast cancer cells, or left remaining cells unable to grow.

In the next stage of the study, researchers gave five mice with aggressive breast cancer tumours a daily dose of aspirin for 15 days, the equivalent of a low dose in humans. At the end of the 15 days, they found that the tumours of mice that received daily aspirin treatments were 47 per cent smaller than those in the five mice who were left untreated.

The third step of the study was to give a daily dose of aspirin to healthy mice for 10 days, before exposing them to breast cancer cells. Compared to the control group, mice that received the daily aspirin had lower levels of cancer growth.

According to lead study author Dr Sushanta Banerjee, aspirin blocked the renewal of cancer cells. “They couldn’t grow or reproduce,” he said, highlighting the potential for aspirin to be used in breast cancer treatment.

“There are two parts here. We could give aspirin after chemotherapy to prevent relapse and keep the pressure on, which we saw was effective in both the laboratory and the mouse model, and we could use it preventatively.”

It’s not the first time aspirin, has been highlighted as a potential health treatment, besides for headaches. One 2014 study found it could potentially reduce the risk of colon cancer, and it is commonly used to prevent blood clots.

While these latest results revealed exciting potential, individuals should talk to their doctor before taking a daily aspirin, to eliminate the potential for any side effects.