Acetylsalicylic acid, better known as aspirin, is one of the most popular drugs in the world and has always been surrounded by controversy due to the health effects of its consumption.
Most of the time these issues have been linked to myths, but the truth is that aspirin has been used for 150 years against ailments as varied as migraines, fever or cardiovascular diseases.
Aspirin and skin cancer
- One of the latest advances in relation to the benefits has been the investigation carried out by the Stanford University School of Medicine, in Palo Alto, California (United States), which relates the taking of aspirin with the reduction of the risk of suffering from melanoma due to its anti-inflammatory effects.
- According to the study carried out on 60,000 women over 12 years, patients who consumed aspirin for more than five years had reduced the possibility of suffering from skin cancer by 30%.
Diversity against cancer
- Various studies have linked prolonged consumption of low-dose aspirin with the prevention of other types of cancer, mainly colon and lung cancer.
- In turn, it has not been proven whether in the case of pancreatic cancer taking this medication is beneficial or harmful, since the results of various investigations have been contradictory. In the case of prostate cancer it has turned out to be ineffective.
Cardiovascular diseases
- Acetylsalicylic acid is also beneficial for treating cardiovascular diseases, specifically, to prevent an accident of this type from occurring a second time, since it is ineffective against a first heart or cerebrovascular attack.
- This effect is due to the capacity of aspirin as an antiplatelet agent, which favors the dissolution of thrombi, although it can be dangerous due to the risks of internal bleeding. Hence, experts do not recommend taking aspirin during menstruation.