14 DAY TRIAL // A team of researchers in the United States argues in a new study that aspirin appears to play a role in stopping the growth of several types of brain cancer cells in the human body. This discovery could lead to the development of new therapies against these aggressive tumors, and improved outcomes for patients.
The new investigation was focused on cells called vestibular schwannomas, or acoustic neuromas, which usually develop in a type of brain tumor that can lead to tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and hearing loss. This type of intracranial cancer is sometimes lethal, the research team says.
The work was carried out by a collaboration of investigators from the Mass, Eye and Ear (MEE) Molecular Neurotology Laboratory, the Harvard Medical School, the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge.
Scientists analyzed a total of 600 participants, all of whom had been diagnosed with vestibular schwannoma at MEE. Their study revealed that aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, a well-tolerated anti-inflammatory drug, may represent a promising candidate for advanced brain cancer therapies.
The retrospective study of the 600 patients determined that aspiring has a significant potential to inhibit tumor growth. This implies that the drug may be used as a stopgap measure to prevent the further development of tumors caught in later stages, Science Blog reports.
“Currently, there are no [Food and Drug Administration] FDA-approved drug therapies to treat these tumors, which are the most common tumors of the cerebellopontine angle and the fourth most common intracranial tumors,” says study leader Konstantina Stankovic, MD, PhD.
“Current options for management of growing vestibular schwannomas include surgery (via craniotomy) or radiation therapy, both of which are associated with potentially serious complications,” adds the expert, who is a clinician and researcher at MEE. She also holds an appointment as an assistant professor of otology and laryngology at the HMS.
Details of the new scientific investigation appear in the February issue of the esteemed scientific journal Otology and Neurotology.
“Our results suggest a potential therapeutic role of aspirin in inhibiting vestibular schwannoma growth,” concludes Stankovic, who is also a faculty member with the Harvard Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology.