Role of aspirin in cancer treatment

Researchers have known for years that common drugs like aspirin can help cancer patients, but they were not sure why.  Now, scientists at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne have found a link between drugs like aspirin and the ability for cancer tumours to spread in the body. 

The Institute's associate professor Steven Stacker says the discovery unlocks a range of potential new pathways for treating cancer.  "Hopefully this insight is going to be very important to understanding how these drugs may work and in fact how the lymphatic vessels may really contribute to a tumour metastasis," he said.

The discovery was reported this week on various sources including an interview with Steven Stacker on ABC's AM and Scientists probe aspirin's role in cancer treatment - an ABC News story by Samantha Donovan.

The research was published this week in an article by Tara Karnezis, Steven Stacker and others, in the journal Cancer Cell:  VEGF-D Promotes Tumor Metastasis by Regulating Prostaglandins Produced by the Collecting Lymphatic Endothelium, Cancer Cell, Volume 21, Issue 2, 181-195, 14 February 2012.
Please contact your library for a copy of the article in full.