Cancer can be caused by a complex cascade of events, one of which is believed to be chronic inflammation.
Inflammation is the body’s immune response to the presence of foreign particles such as pathogens or irritants, and is designed to remove such particles. Immune cells are called to the site of inflammation to envelop foreign particles or secrete oxidative chemicals like hydrogen peroxide to kill invaders. Unfortunately this process can persist, in the case of prolonged irritation, resulting in a pathology known as chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation has been suggested to be one of the main causes of many degenerative diseases and cancers. Things like irritating implants, undetected allergies, and poor diet can all illicit an extended inflammatory response. As the concentration of immune cells and harmful chemical secretions increase, the surrounding tissue begins to suffer, resulting in prompt cellular death. The inflammatory process also enhances healing and cellular propagation, causing cells in the affected area to multiply quickly and compensate for the dying cells. This leads to a highly proliferative state in which a mutation is more likely to occur, increasing the chance of tumor formation.
With this knowledge, it follows that reducing inflammation should reduce risk of cancer, which is exactly what a recent study has demonstrated. A 2011 article published in The Lancet has shown a decreased risk of death from cancer in patients consuming Aspirin daily over a long period of time (five years or longer). Aspirin inhibits certain inflammatory precursor enzymes, and plays a role in reducing chronic inflammation. The areas of decreased cancer risk include lung, brain, pancreas, and esophagus. Aspirin seems to have the greatest effect on cancers of the digestive track, showing decreased risk of gastrointestinal tumors. This could be in relation to Aspirin being most effective at the site of absorption (the gastrointestinal tract). The study concluded that long term treatment with Aspirin decreases the risk of death in multiple cancer types, and further research on anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of cancer should be conducted.
