Chemoprevention Goes Gourmet: Different Flavors of NO-Aspirin

Abstract

Among the salutary effects of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) are its ability to keep platelets from aggregating and blood from clotting too readily, to reduce fever, and to ameliorate inflammation. Aspirin also is beneficial in preventing colorectal cancer; however, aspirin is not without its side effects, which include gastrointestinal irritation and ulceration. Additionally, if a patient has pre-existing conditions that are exacerbated by aspirin, does a daily dose of aspirin make sense, when admittedly, the reduction of the incidence of colorectal cancer is less than 50% in those who take aspirin daily? New research on nitric oxide-modified aspirin (NO-ASA) indicates that the gastrointestinal side effects might be suppressed while keeping or enhancing the ability of the modified aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer and inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in vitro.