A new study reveals that regularly taking low-dose aspirin can reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Research published in the journal JAMA Oncology states that taking aspirin for several years reduces the risk for colon and other types of cancer. Aspirin can reduce inflammation in the body and prevent the formation of colon cancer because it affects prostaglandins -- hormones associated with the development of colon cancer.

"Long-term aspirin use was associated with a modest but significantly reduced risk for overall cancer, especially gastrointestinal tract tumors," the researchers wrote in the journal. "Regular aspirin use may prevent a substantial proportion of colorectal cancers and complement the benefits of screening."

In their research, authors saw the cancer risk-reducing effect of aspirin after more than five years of daily administration.

"That makes sense, because cancers don't typically develop overnight. They take years to develop, so you would have to take aspirin for a long time to prevent cancer," said Dr. Andrew Chan of Massachusetts General Hospital, as reported by CBS News. "There is scientific evidence that aspirin has an effect on certain biological pathways that can result in cancer."

Their research involved the analysis of data of more than 100,000 men and women in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

The women were between 30 to 55 years old when they initially participated in 1976 while the men were around 40 to 75 years old when they started in 1986. After more than three decades of follow-up, the researchers found that more than 20,000 women were diagnosed with cancer and more than 7,000 cases among men.

The researchers found that people who regularly took aspirin daily had a three percent reduced risk of cancer overall, a 15 percent lowered risk of gastrointestinal tract cancers and a 19 percent reduced risk of colon cancers, Medical News Today noted. However, aspirin use did not lower the risk of other cancers especially in the lung, breast and prostate.

Dr. Chan adds that aspirin only lowers the risk -- it does not prevent colon cancer. He does not recommend taking aspirin to prevent cancer.

Cancer Research UK's Nicola Smith told the Daily Mail that more research is needed on the potential of aspirin to reduce the risk of cancer.

"This study adds to what we know about the potential for long-term aspirin use to reduce the risk of cancer, particularly bowel cancer, though it didn't consider the risk of side effects such as internal bleeding," Smith said. "We need to understand more about who would get the best balance of benefits and risks of side effects, how much aspirin they should take, and for how long."

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