Researchers have found that aspirin use is linked to a significantly reduced risk of developing bile duct cancer.
"Our study found that individuals who took aspirin had a more than a two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half-fold lesser chance of developing bile duct cancer, compared to individuals who did not take aspirin," said Lewis Roberts from Mayo Clinic in the US.
Bile duct cancer is an uncommon cancer that forms in the slender tubes (bile ducts) that carry digestive fluid through the liver.
The disease occurs mostly in people over 50 and can cause symptoms, such as yellowing of the skin and eyes, intense itchiness of the skin, and white stools.
Bile duct cancer, also called cholangiocarcinoma, is an aggressive type of cancer that progresses quickly and is difficult to treat.
"We know that continuous unremitting inflammation is one of the main factors that promotes cancer of the bile ducts," said Roberts.
"Aspirin, with its anti-inflammatory properties, may reduce the risk of bile duct cancer by lessening inflammation through inhibition of an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase (COX), which is known to promote inflammation," he said.
In addition to the COX enzyme pathway, other studies have shown that aspirin blocks additional cell-signaling cascades that promote cancer development.
"The evidence has been accumulating that regular, long-term use of aspirin is associated with a decreased risk of a number of different cancer types, particularly gastrointestinal cancers," he said.
However it is not yet certain that aspirin is safe to use for cancer prevention.
The findings were published in the journal Hepatology.
