A study including nearly 1,400 patients with gastrointestinal cancers, initiated by Dr. Martine Frouws of Leiden Medical Center in the Netherlands, was recently reported at the European Cancer Congress. The researchers found that taking low-dose aspirin after diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers significantly prolonged survival in these patients, with a 5-year survival rate of 75 percent compared to 40 percent for those who did not take it. The cancers included in the study were colon (48%), followed by rectum (42.8%), with esophageal cancer coming in third at 10.2%. Currently, more and more medical research is focusing on personalized precision medicine, but the expensive cost and limited indication of the population make the application of personalized treatment encounter difficulties. And this study confirms that aspirin is low cost and low risk, which can have the effect of reducing the incidence of digestive tract tumors and prolonging survival time. Not only can it prevent, but also can assist in cancer treatment Early studies found that aspirin can effectively prevent the occurrence of diseases such as colon cancer; and as an anti-platelet agent, it can effectively prevent and treat ischemic cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. And researchers at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, found that aspirin was actually effective in extending survival time for gastrointestinal cancers as an adjuvant treatment. The appropriate dose and duration of aspirin and the risk-benefit ratio of aspirin are not yet clear, but in the field of precision medicine, genetic information and blood and/or urine biomarkers may help screen those patients who will benefit the most while minimizing adverse effects. Dr. Frouws and colleagues studied and analyzed detailed data on 13,715 cases diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancers between 1998 and 2011 from PHARMO (the Institute for Drug Outcomes Research) in the Netherlands. In summary, 30.5% of patients used aspirin before diagnosis, 8.3% took aspirin after diagnosis, and 61.1% did not take aspirin. And the doses taken were usually low (80 – 100 mg/day). The mean follow-up time was 48.6 months, and 28% of patients survived for at least 5 years. Cancers in the observed population included esophageal, gastric, colon and rectal cancers. The analysis showed a 5-year OS of 75% in the drug-taking group and 42% in the non-drug-taking patients. A mild benefit was seen with aspirin in hepatobiliary cell carcinoma, while no significant benefit was seen in patients with pancreatic cancer. More importantly, the analysis also showed that aspirin was beneficial for patients at almost all stages of disease, after adjusting for factors such as gender, age, stage of disease and treatment received (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy). Researchers believe that the effect of aspirin is due to its potent anti-platelet effect: this effect prevents circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from hiding in platelet clumps and thus are effectively removed. Because of its low cost and few side effects, aspirin will be very useful in the prevention and improvement of gastrointestinal cancers. However, not all patients have a clear benefit from taking aspirin, and it will be a significant and meaningful question in the next study to effectively identify patients who can benefit and thus treat them differently.