# Aspirins legacy on cancer and overall benefit: risk balance over a 15-year horizon

> **NIH NIH U01** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $641,508

## Abstract

SUMMARY / ABSTRACT 
The overarching goal of Project 2 is to address significant evidence gaps, including a need for more evidence 
on low dose aspirin (LDA)’s role in cancer prevention, outlined by the US Preventive Services Task Force 
(USPSTF) in its 2022 updated recommendations on LDA use for primary cardiovascular disease (CVD) 
prevention. Additionally, we aim to update risk models to be applicable to the oldest-old. Our proposed 5-year 
extension of the ASPREE-XT study would be uniquely poised to address three key knowledge gaps identified 
by the USPSTF 2022: 
1) Evaluate the effects of LDA use on colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality over the longterm 
(10 to 20 years and longer) in primary prevention populations and in the context of current screening 
practices. 
2) Improve the accuracy of CVD risk prediction in all racial and ethnic and socioeconomic groups. 
3) Quantify the gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) risk associated with aspirin use in populations representative 
of the US primary CVD prevention population.
Our overarching hypotheses are: 1) for primary prevention, a 5-year course of LDA in older adults has a favorable 
overall health benefit:risk balance in certain high-risk individuals when considering legacy effects on cancer, 
CVD, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and GIB over a 15-year horizon; and 2) incorporation 
of novel predictive factors can improve risk stratification, thereby optimizing personalized preventive aspirin 
therapy. To test these hypotheses, we propose to extend follow-up of the ASPREE cohort to a mean 15 years 
post-randomization, while collecting data on ongoing use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory 
drugs and accounting for such intake in our analyses. Five years of extended follow-up will provide an unmatched 
opportunity to understand the 15-year legacy effect of initiating LDA in older adults on incident cancer and 
cancer-related mortality, as well as other diseases of aging such as ADRD and CVD. This comprehensive 
evaluation is essential to determine LDA’s long-term benefit:risk profile, particularly in the context of existing 
screening practices. This project will also establish this benefit:risk balance in specific subgroups defined by 
clinical, lifestyle, and molecular risk factors over a 15-year horizon. Ultimately, this work will provide definitive 
guidance for future clinical recommendations regarding LDA use in primary prevention, and in high-risk 
subgroups of older adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11190013
- **Project number:** 1U01CA301988-01
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Erica T Warner
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $641,508
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-26 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11190013

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11190013, Aspirins legacy on cancer and overall benefit: risk balance over a 15-year horizon (1U01CA301988-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11190013. Licensed CC0.

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