title: Aspirin use after diagnosis improves survival in older adults with colon cancer: a retrospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess survival in relation to aspirin use after diagnosis in older adults with colon cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subgroup analysis of a previously published cohort and retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individuals registered in the Eindhoven Cancer Registry (ECR) between 1998 and 2007, linked to prescriptions of low-dose aspirin (80 mg) registered in a community pharmacy database.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred thirty-six individuals aged 70 and older diagnosed with colon cancer with or without aspirin use after diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survival was analyzed with user status as a time-dependent covariate. Multivariate Poisson regression survival models were used to study the effect of aspirin on overall survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred seven participants (20.0%) started aspirin after being diagnosed with colon cancer; 429 (80.0%) were not prescribed aspirin. Three hundred thirty-nine participants (63.2%) had died by the end of follow-up. Aspirin use after diagnosis was associated with longer overall survival (rate ratio (RR) = 0.51, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.38-0.70, P < .001). Multivariate proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that aspirin use was associated with longer overall survival (adjusted RR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.44-0.81, P = .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aspirin use after the diagnosis of colon cancer in older adults was associated with longer survival. Low-dose aspirin could be used as an effective adjuvant therapy in older adults with colon cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marlies S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Reimers
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bastiaannet
authors.forename: Myrthe P P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van Herk-Sukel
authors.forename: Valery E P
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Lemmens
authors.forename: Colette B M
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: van den Broek
authors.forename: Cornelis J H
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: van de Velde
authors.forename: Anton J M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: de Craen
authors.forename: Gerrit Jan
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Liefers
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D001241:Aspirin