Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 1, 1995                   TAG: 9510020048
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Medium

ASPIRIN CUTS ANOTHER CANCER RISK

The work is the latest to find beneficial side effects of the pain reliever, which has been around more than 80 years.

Many doctors already routinely recommend that men and women over 50 take an adult-strength aspirin every other day to lower their risk of heart disease.

Two years ago, scientists suggested that aspirin may reduce the risk of dying from cancer of the esophagus, the muscular tube that propels food from the throat to the stomach.

The latest study, by researchers at the University of Alabama School of Public Health and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., offers evidence that aspirin reduces the risk of getting it, said Dr. Harold Frucht, director of gastroenterology at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

``Their results are the first definitive proof, in my opinion, that in fact aspirin does have an effect in reducing the risk,'' Frucht said. ``It's a pretty dramatic number.''

The study's authors warned against taking aspirin solely to avoid getting esophageal cancer, saying they did not know how much or how frequently people should take it to cut their risk.

More than 12,000 people - most over age 50 - in the United States are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year, and nearly 11,000 people die annually, according to the American Cancer Society. The cancer is among the deadliest - only about 8 percent of its victims survive more than five years.

The cause is unknown, but doctors estimate that drinking and smoking play a role in 90 percent of cases.

That may prevent many of those at highest risk for esophageal cancer from taking aspirin, because the drug's side effects - stomach irritation and bleeding - can worsen other illnesses associated with alcohol and cigarettes, such as liver disease, Frucht said.

The new study was based on nationwide surveys of 14,407 participants followed for at least 12 years.

The researchers found a 90 percent drop in the lifetime risk of esophageal cancer, about 1 in 20, for those who reported at least occasionally taking aspirin sometime in the past six months.

The article appears in today's issue of Cancer, published by the American Cancer Society.

The study's lead author, epidemiologist Ellen Funkhouser of the University of Alabama, said she planned next to try to determine how much aspirin is needed to attain the most benefit.