USPSTF recommends low-dose aspirin for cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer prevention

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has issued a final recommendation statement in support of the initiation of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.

Adults aged 50 to 69 years old who have at least a 10% 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and who do not have an increased risk for bleeding should consider taking low-dose aspirin daily, according toAlbert L. Siu, MD, MSPH, on behalf of the task force.

Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the recommendations serve as updates to the 2007 statement on aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the prevention of colorectal center, which recommended against the use of both, and the 2009 statement on aspirin for CVD events prevention, which recommended the use of aspirin in age-, sex- and outcome-specific circumstances.

HemOnc Today, a publication also published on Healio, previously reported on the draft recommendations, which were issued in September 2015.

Evidence was insufficient to assess aspirin use in adults younger than 50 or older than 69 years, according to the USPSTF, so the task force was unable to determine the balance of benefits and harms.

"Aspirin's anticlotting effect is useful for primary and secondary CVD prevention because it potentially decreases the accumulation of blood clots that form as a result of reduced blood flow at atherosclerotic plaques, thereby reducing hypoxic damage to heart and brain tissue," the USPSTF stated. "The mechanisms for inhibition of adenoma or colorectal cancer development are not yet well-understood but may result from aspirin's anti-inflammatory properties."

The task force recommended prescribing a dose of 81 mg a day, which is the most commonly prescribed dose in the United States.

In a statement from the American College of Gastroenterology, the organization clarified how gastroenterologists should interpret the recommendations.

"We are in the best position to assess a patient’s risk of colorectal cancer and gastrointestinal hemorrhage,"Aasma Shaukat, MD, MPH, FACG, University of Minnesota, wrote. "It is important for GI physicians to understand these recommendations and especially their nuances, to apply them to our patients, and to help our primary care colleagues balance the benefit of aspirin for colorectal cancer prevention with the risk of GI hemorrhage." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes

Disclosures: The authors report a contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality during the conduct of the study.

Source: www.healio.com