Can a common, low-cost drug stop cancer from spreading? Researchers say aspirin, known for its pain-relieving and blood-thinning properties, may also help reduce the spread of certain cancers, and they have now uncovered the mechanism behind its effect.
Metastasis, or the spread of cancer cells from their original tumor to distant organs, is responsible for around 90 percent of cancer deaths worldwide. Earlier studies have shown that taking low-dose aspirin daily could reduce the spread of breast, bowel, and prostate cancers. However, the exact mechanism by which the drug could prevent metastasis was not known.
