As we know, aspirin is to treat headache based on its pain-relieving properties with salicylic acid as its active ingredient. Last time, we have been told that daily consumption of aspirin will have health problem. However, there is a new study published in 2017 revealing a surprising research outcome saying that daily consumption of aspirin could ward off liver cancer!
According to a survey conducted in United States, there are around 257 million people across the globe who are infected by Hepatitis B. Although current antiviral medicines such as nucleotide analogue therapy could significantly reduce liver cancer risk, but the therapy does not completely eliminate the risk. Hence, aspirin has been investigated to explore its chemopreventive effects in cancer. In a study of people with chronic hepatitis B, those who consumed aspirin were nearly 40 percent less likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) when compared to those who did not take aspirin daily. However, further research is required to confirm the benefits of aspirin therapy for patients with hepatitis B.
For effectively preventing HBV-related liver cancer, the findings of this study may help hepatologists to treat patients with chronic HBV infection in the future. With the collaboration of the different healthcare professionals including pharmacists, it gives us positive outlook towards a more advance health care services to be available in our society in the future.
Written by: Soh Ke Ying
