Could two simple pills help prevent bowel cancer?

A study, led by the University of Leeds is hoping to find out if taking fish oil extract and aspirin daily could help stop pre-cancerous growths developing in the bowel.

Over a million new patients are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year making it the 3rd most common cancer worldwide. It usually develops from polyps, tiny slow growing nodules, found on the bowel wall. Doctors currently remove all polyps that they see as it’s impossible to identify which ones will turn cancerous.

Previous studies have indicated that aspirin and the a substance found naturally in fish oil known as Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) when taken on their own can provide some protection against bowel polyps, Researchers now intend to find out if they provide even greater protection when taken together.

"A major advantage of EPA and aspirin is that they are both safe, have few side effects and they are already used widely by people who have heart disease or who have had a stroke," said Professor Mark Hull from the University of Leeds who is leading the trial. "Other drugs that have been shown to prevent bowel polyps have been linked to an increase in heart attacks, so they are unsuitable for widespread use."

"If this treatment is shown to be safe and effective, then in future it could be given to more patients who have been found to have these pre-cancerous bowel polyps and are at risk of developing others in the future," Professor Hull said.

"Our studies may also indicate which patients the drugs are likely to work in best - another step towards the current vision of personalised medicine."

The work is being financed by a research grant awarded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme, which is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

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