Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands have reported in the British Journal of Cancer that colon cancer patients who take aspirin regularly for a period of time can prolong their survival. This author explains that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are known to prevent colorectal cancer, especially aspirin. Some recent studies and experts have suggested that regular aspirin use may also have a therapeutic effect. However, these studies are not yet conclusive. Dr. Lei Yunpeng Lei, Department of Gastroenterology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, and his research group set out to determine the therapeutic effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin as adjuvant therapy in patients with colorectal cancer. They used a study method based on population observations. They collected pharmacologic data from the Pharmaceutical Interlocking System, which were from patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 1988 and 2007. These patients were grouped as: those who used aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before and after diagnosis, those who did not use aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before and after diagnosis, those who used aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after diagnosis only, and those who did not use aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after diagnosis only. 4481 individuals participated in this study: 26% of them did not use aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 47% used aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs before and after diagnosis, and 27% used aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after diagnosis only. Those who took daily doses of aspirin for 9 consecutive months or more after diagnosis had a 30% lower risk of cancer death than those who did not. Even taking it regularly for any period of time reduced the risk of death to 23 percent. This author concludes that “taking aspirin in the pre- or post-diagnostic period of colon cancer largely reduces mortality. This finding strongly supports the initial placebo-controlled trial, which was studying aspirin as an adjuvant treatment for patients with colon cancer.”