Caring Medical
& Rehabilitation Services
715 Lake Street, Suite 600
Oak Park, Illinois 60301
708.848.7789 Phone
708.848.7763 Fax

Aspirin and Colon Cancer

Ross Hauser, M.D.
In regards to cancer, anti-inflammatories do have a role. For cancers to metastasize, they require numerous blood vessels. What most people do not realize is that cancers cause the body to make a whole new blood supply to the Cancers themselves by causing the secretion of vascular growth factor (VGF).

VGF induces new blood vessel formation. VGF is needed if you are an athlete training in a running event because VGF will increase the circulation to the muscles so you won't get so tired when sprinting. VGF is also helpful for people with blocked arteries, because VGF can help collateral circulation form (new blood vessels to go around the blockage).

As it turns out Celebrex, aspirin, Voltaren, and other anti-inflammatory medications block the production of VGF. So when a person comes to Caring Medical for cancer care, an anti-inflammatory medication is often prescribed.

Thinning the Blood
Ross Hauser, M.D.
Cancers are able to elude immune detection by many different mechanisms. One of them is probably the cancer clotting coat. This is comprised of a fibrin network of collagen that surrounds the tumor cells. Fibrin is the normal end product of blood clotting. Cancer physiology often involves blood coagulopathy.

It is common to find in a cancer patient that markers for excessive blood clotting (coagulopathy) are high.

Common tests to show this are platelet aggregation studies, as well as fibrinogen levels, thrombin-antithrombin III complex, and others. Many cancer patients are treated with high-dose chemotherapy, which can worsen the excessive coagulopathy, thus worsening their cancer physiology.

Studies have shown that cancer patients who thin their blood with medications such as Coumadin and dipyridamole have better outcomes. It is best to have blood coagulation parameters checked before and after some type of anticoagulation therapy has been started to see if it has been corrected. If it has been corrected, this should have a positive impact on the outcome of other treatments the cancer patient requires.