Aspirin before at-home colorectal cancer screening test didn’t significantly improve ability to detect cancer precursors

Bottom Line: Some observational studies have suggested that taking aspirin before undergoing colorectal cancer screening with a fecal immunochemical test for blood in stool might improve the ability of the test to detect cancer precursors. This randomized clinical trial included about 1,200 adults (between the ages of 40 and 80) who took a single dose of aspirin (300 mg) two days before collecting a stool sample for a fecal immunochemical test and about 1,200 adults who took a placebo. Researchers report a higher detection rate in the aspirin group but the difference between the two groups wasn’t statistically significant. A limitation of the study is that the results were based on relatively few individuals who had cancer precursors.

Authors: Hermann Brenner, M.D., M.P.H., German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany, and coauthors

(doi:10.1001/jama.2019.4755)

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