# Optimizing the Impact of Aspirin for Chemoprevention

> **NIH NIH K07** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $109,704

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
The candidate's long-term career goal is to become an academic leader in “precision cancer prevention”, by
linking clinical and epidemiological risk factors with novel molecular markers, and applying decision and
implementation tools to direct heathcare resources to the most effective and practical prevention strategies in
the appropriate risk groups. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently released new
recommendations supporting the use of low-dose aspirin for the primary prevention of CRC and CVD in adults
aged 50-59 with certain CVD risk profiles. However, evidence for the efficacy of daily low-dose aspirin use
among older people are lacking, and net benefits were not considered in the context of baseline CRC risk. In
addition, impact and challenges in implementing the 2016 USPSTF guideline, and potential more refined
precision-based recommendations have not been investigated. Building on the candidate's passion to bridge
evidence with policy to improve practice in real world settings, as well as her prior research experience in
cancer epidemiology and aspirin chemoprevention, the candidate seeks to fill these knowledge gaps through
this novel and high impact research project to 1) examine the overall benefits and harms of low-dose daily
aspirin use in a large randomized controlled trial among adults aged 65 and above, and estimate aspirin's
efficacy on CRC according to CRC screening and baseline CRC risk predicted by clinical and genetic
susceptibility (Aim 1); 2) refine the net benefits of low-dose aspirin use among adults aged 50 and above
according to both CRC and CVD risk integrating findings from the RCT and stratified analyses using decision
modeling (Aim 2); 3) examine the impact of 2016 USPSTF recommendations using national survey, and
identify the barriers and facilitators for implementation at provider and patient level through interviews (Aim 3).
The candidate will develop the necessary skills to conduct this work through a multidisciplinary mentoring
committee, consisting of internationally recognized experts in cancer prevention and implementation science
(Dr. Graham Colditz), aspirin chemoprevention (Dr. Andrew Chan), decision modeling (Dr. Ann Zauber), and
health behaviors (Dr. Aimee James). The candidate will also receive committed mentorship from Dr. John
McNeil at Monash University and Dr. Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar from Erasmus MC, and collaborate with Dr.
Nathan Moore from BJC Medical Group. In addition to mentored research, the candidate will also benefit from
formal training through didactic coursework, attendance at scientific meetings, publication in peer-reviewed
journals, and submission of an R01 grant. This mentoring and in-depth training in decision science and
implementation science as well as national and international collaborations, will be critical for the candidate to
develop new, interdisciplinary, and unique areas of expertise, and establish a strong research network...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9961542
- **Project number:** 5K07CA218377-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Yin Cao
- **Activity code:** K07 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $109,704
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-06 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9961542

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9961542, Optimizing the Impact of Aspirin for Chemoprevention (5K07CA218377-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9961542. Licensed CC0.

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