A study by Mass General Brigham, published in JAMA Oncology, suggests that regular aspirin use may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, especially in individuals with unhealthy lifestyles.
Research indicates that regular aspirin intake can significantly lower colorectal cancer risk in people with high lifestyle-related risk factors.
Among men and women followed for more than 30 years, those with less healthy lifestyles had the greatest benefit from regular aspirin use, according to a Mass General Brigham-led study.
Aspirin’s Role in Colorectal Cancer Prevention
Regular aspirin may help lower the risk of colorectal cancer in people with greater lifestyle-related risk factors for the disease, according to a study led by researchers at Mass General Brigham. The study, published today (August 1) in JAMA Oncology, could encourage a more nuanced approach to preventive aspirin use.
“We sought to identify individuals who are more likely to benefit from aspirin to facilitate more personalized prevention strategies,” said co-senior author Andrew Chan, MD, MPH, Director of Epidemiology for the Mass General Cancer Center and gastroenterology Director of the Center for Young Adult Colorectal Cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force previously recommended daily low-dose aspirin to prevent cardiovascular events and colorectal cancer in all adults ages 50 to 59 (the highest-risk age group for colorectal cancer). In 2016, they withdrew the recommendation in part due to concerns about aspirin increasing the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.
Analysis of Aspirin’s Benefits Based on Lifestyle
For the study, researchers analyzed the health data from 107,655 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. They compared the colorectal cancer rates in those who took aspirin regularly with those who did not take aspirin regularly. Regular aspirin use was defined as either two or more standard-dose (325 mg) tablets per week or daily low-dose (81 mg) aspirin.
Study participants were followed starting from an average age of 49.4 years. Those who regularly took aspirin had a colorectal cancer 10-year cumulative incidence of 1.98 percent, compared to 2.95 percent among those who did not take aspirin.
The benefit of aspirin was largest among those with the unhealthiest lifestyles. Those with the lowest healthy lifestyle scores (unhealthiest) had a 3.4 percent chance of getting colorectal cancer if they did not take regular aspirin and a 2.12 percent chance of getting colorectal cancer if they took aspirin regularly. By contrast, in those with the highest healthy lifestyle scores (healthiest), the colorectal cancer rates were 1.5 percent in regular aspirin-taking group and 1.6% in the non-regular aspirin group. This means that in the least healthy group, treating 78 patients with aspirin would prevent one case of colorectal cancer over a 10-year period, while it would take treating 909 patients to prevent one case for the healthiest group. Lifestyle scores were calculated based on body mass index, frequency of cigarette and alcohol use, physical activity, and adherence to a high-quality diet.
Targeted Prevention Strategies
“Our results show that aspirin can proportionally lower the markedly elevated risk in those with multiple risk factors for colorectal cancer,” said Daniel Sikavi, MD, lead author of the paper and a gastroenterologist at MGH. “In contrast, those with a healthier lifestyle have a lower baseline risk of colorectal cancer, and, therefore, their benefit from aspirin was still evident, albeit less pronounced.”
One outcome of the study could be that “healthcare providers might more strongly consider recommending aspirin to patients who have less healthy lifestyles,” said co-senior author Long H. Nguyen, MD, MS, a physician investigator in the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and Division of Gastroenterology at MGH and a Chen Institute Department of Medicine Transformative Scholar at MGH.
While the study included those who took regular standard-dose (325-mg) aspirin two times a week in the regular-aspirin using category, Sikavi noted that “based on prior studies, the best evidence supports daily low-dose (81-mg) aspirin for prevention.”
Previous studies have found evidence to suggest aspirin can reduce the production of pro-inflammatory proteins, known as prostaglandins, that can promote the development of cancer. Aspirin may also block signaling pathways that cause cells to grow out of control, influence the immune response against cancer cells, and block the development of blood vessels that supply nutrients to cancer cells. “Aspirin likely prevents colorectal cancer through multiple mechanisms,” Chan said.
The study did not assess potential side effects of daily aspirin use, such as bleeding. In addition, while the study tried to control for a wide range of risk factors for colorectal cancer, in comparing non-aspirin and aspirin-taking groups with the same level of risk factors, because this was an observational study, it is possible there may have been additional factors that influenced the findings.
Reference: “Aspirin Use and Incidence of Colorectal Cancer According to Lifestyle Risk” by Sikavi, D et al., 1 August 2024, JAMA Oncology.
DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.2503
In addition to Sikavi, Chan, and Nguyen, Mass General Brigham authors include Wenjie Ma (MGH), David A. Drew (MGH), Shuji Ogino (BWH), Edward L. Giovannucci (BWH), and Mingyang Song (MGH). Additional authors include Kai Wang and Yin Cao.
Artistic depiction of a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor for 3D quantitative phase imaging. Credit: Ozcan Lab @ UCLA
All-optical multiplane quantitative phase imaging design eliminates the need for digital phase recovery algorithms.
UCLA researchers have introduced a breakthrough in 3D quantitative phase imaging that utilizes a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor to enhance imaging efficiency and speed. This method enables label-free, high-resolution imaging across multiple planes and has significant potential applications in biomedical diagnostics, material characterization, and environmental analysis.
Introduction to Quantitative Phase Imaging
Light waves, as they propagate through a medium, experience a temporal delay. This delay can unveil crucial information about the underlying structural and compositional characteristics. Quantitative Phase Imaging (QPI) is a cutting-edge optical technique that reveals variations in optical path length as light moves through biological samples, materials, and other transparent structures. Unlike traditional imaging methods that rely on staining or labeling, QPI allows researchers to visualize and quantify phase variations by generating high-contrast images that enable noninvasive investigations crucial to fields such as biology, materials science, and engineering.
A recent study reported on July 25 in Advanced Photonics introduces a cutting-edge approach to 3D QPI using a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor. The innovative approach, developed by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), offers an effective solution to a bottleneck posed by traditional 3D QPI methods, which can be time-consuming and computationally intensive.
UCLA researchers report a new method for quantitative phase imaging of a 3D phase-only object using a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor. Utilizing multiple spatially engineered diffractive layers trained through deep learning, this diffractive processor can optically transform the phase distributions of multiple 2D objects at various axial positions into intensity patterns, each encoded at a unique wavelength channel. These wavelength-multiplexed patterns are projected onto a single field-of-view (FOV) at the output plane of the diffractive processor, enabling the capture of quantitative phase distributions of input objects located at different axial planes using an intensity-only image sensor – eliminating the need for digital phase recovery algorithms. Credit: C. Shen et al., doi 10.1117/1.AP.6.5.056003.
The UCLA Innovation in Optical Processing
The UCLA team developed a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor capable of all-optically transforming phase distributions of multiple 2D objects at various axial positions into intensity patterns, each encoded at a unique wavelength channel. The design allows for the capture of quantitative phase images of input objects located at different axial planes using an intensity-only image sensor, eliminating the need for digital phase recovery algorithms.
“We are excited about the potential of this new approach for biomedical imaging and sensing,” said Aydogan Ozcan, lead researcher and Chancellor’s Professor at UCLA. “Our wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor offers a novel solution for high-resolution, label-free imaging of transparent specimens, which could greatly benefit biomedical microscopy, sensing, and diagnostics applications.”
Multiplane Imaging and Its Applications
The innovative multiplane QPI design incorporates wavelength multiplexing and passive diffractive optical elements that are collectively optimized using deep learning. By performing phase-to-intensity transformations that are spectrally multiplexed, this design enables rapid quantitative phase imaging of specimens across multiple axial planes. This system’s compactness and all-optical phase recovery capability make it a competitive analog alternative to traditional digital QPI methods.
A proof-of-concept experiment validated the approach, showcasing successful imaging of distinct phase objects at different axial positions in the terahertz spectrum. The scalable nature of the design also allows adaptation to different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the visible and IR bands, using appropriate nano-fabrication methods, paving the way for new phase imaging solutions integrated with focal plane arrays or image sensor arrays for efficient on-chip imaging and sensing devices.
Implications for Science and Technology
This research has significant implications for various fields, including biomedical imaging, sensing, materials science, and environmental analysis. By providing a faster, more efficient method for 3D QPI, this technology can enhance the diagnosis and study of diseases, the characterization of materials, and the monitoring of environmental samples, among other applications.
Reference: “Multiplane quantitative phase imaging using a wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical processor” by Che-Yung Shen, Jingxi Li, Yuhang Li, Tianyi Gan, Langxing Bai, Mona Jarrahi and Aydogan Ozcan, 25 July 2024, Advanced Photonics.
