This Medicine Cabinet Staple May Help Stop Cancer from Spreading

Mar. 15, 2025

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Aspirinmay help stopcancerfrom spreading — and scientists think they’ve figured out why.Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that aspirin may boost the immune system and stop cancer cells from metastasizing, according to a study published inNature.It all hinges on when cancer cells break away from a tumor; as the study explains, the cancer cells are “vulnerable to immune attack, as they are deprived of the highly immunosuppressive microenvironment found within established tumors.”As researchers explain in a release from theUniversity of Cambridge, aspirin can reduce a clotting factor known as thromboxane A2 (TXA2). But a side effect of this clotting factor is that it triggers a protein called ARHGEF1 — and that protein can suppress the cancer-fighting immune cells known as T cells.Stock image of someone taking aspirin.GettyBy stopping the clotting factor, you stop the protein that stops the T-cells — a discovery that the study’s first author, Dr. Jie Yang, Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge, called “a Eureka moment.”“Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin," Yang said. “It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of enquiry than we had anticipated.”The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Stock image of two aspirin pills.GettyHowever, the study’s authors caution against cancer patients beginning an aspirin regimen without talking to their doctor. As theMayo Clinicnotes, daily aspirin use may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. But, they’re hopeful that research and a University College London clinical trial will show which patients the over-the-counter drug can benefit from aspirin therapy, which would be more widely available — and cheaper — than immunotherapies and other treatments.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies,” Yang said, “and therefore more accessible globally.”

Aspirinmay help stopcancerfrom spreading — and scientists think they’ve figured out why.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that aspirin may boost the immune system and stop cancer cells from metastasizing, according to a study published inNature.It all hinges on when cancer cells break away from a tumor; as the study explains, the cancer cells are “vulnerable to immune attack, as they are deprived of the highly immunosuppressive microenvironment found within established tumors.”

As researchers explain in a release from theUniversity of Cambridge, aspirin can reduce a clotting factor known as thromboxane A2 (TXA2). But a side effect of this clotting factor is that it triggers a protein called ARHGEF1 — and that protein can suppress the cancer-fighting immune cells known as T cells.

Stock image of someone taking aspirin.Getty

By stopping the clotting factor, you stop the protein that stops the T-cells — a discovery that the study’s first author, Dr. Jie Yang, Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge, called “a Eureka moment.”

“Before this, we had not been aware of the implication of our findings in understanding the anti-metastatic activity of aspirin,” Yang said. “It was an entirely unexpected finding which sent us down quite a different path of enquiry than we had anticipated.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Stock image of two aspirin pills.Getty

However, the study’s authors caution against cancer patients beginning an aspirin regimen without talking to their doctor. As theMayo Clinicnotes, daily aspirin use may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. But, they’re hopeful that research and a University College London clinical trial will show which patients the over-the-counter drug can benefit from aspirin therapy, which would be more widely available — and cheaper — than immunotherapies and other treatments.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Aspirin, or other drugs that could target this pathway, have the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies,” Yang said, “and therefore more accessible globally.”

source: people.com