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Aspirin underutilized by patients with advanced colorectal polyps
Although studies have shown that aspirin reduces the risk for colorectal cancer, aspirin was underutilized by the majority of patients with advanced colorectal polyps, according to a study published in The American Journal of Medicine.
“Colorectal cancer is the third-most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States and advanced colorectal polyps are a major risk factor,” Benjamin Fiedler, BS, of Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, and colleagues wrote. “The United States Preventive Services Task Force utilized a micro-simulation model including baseline risk factors and concluded that aspirin reduces risk of colorectal cancer by 40%. Their guidelines suggest that, without a specific contraindication, clinicians should routinely prescribe aspirin to patients with advanced colorectal polyps.”
To determine the extent to which patients adhere to these guidelines, trained interviewers conducted brief telephone interviews with adults aged 41 to 91 years (mean age 66 years; 46.4% men) from 55 clinical practices who had colonoscopies with a diagnosis of advanced colorectal polyps between July 2013 and June 2017. During the interviews, patients self-reported details about their use of aspirin. Researchers then coded the data and calculated frequencies of the self-reports.
Researchers found that of the 84 patients interviewed, 36 (42.9%) reported taking aspirin.
“These data pose major challenges requiring multifactorial approaches by clinicians and their patients which include therapeutic lifestyle changes and adjunctive drug therapies as well as screening,” the researchers wrote. “Lifestyle changes include avoidance and treatment of overweight and obesity as well as regular physical activity and adjunctive drug therapies include aspirin. These multifactorial approaches will be necessary to achieve the most good for the most patients concerning prevention as well as early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer in patients with advanced colorectal polyps.” – by Melissa J. Webb
Disclosures: Fiedler reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.