A DAILY dose of aspirin significantly reduces the risk of dying from a range of common cancers, a landmark study has shown.

The study, published in The Lancet, showed that taking 75 milligrams of aspirin a day for more than five years cut deaths from cancer by 21 per cent.

Experts described the findings as significant and said they would reopen debate about whether low-dose aspirin should be recommended as a preventive measure for healthy middle-aged people.

Authors of the study, which analysed data from more than 25,000 patients who had taken aspirin for its vascular benefits, established in October that aspirin cut death rates from colorectal cancer by a third.

Their latest research is the first to show that aspirin reduced deaths across a range of cancers, including throat, pancreatic, brain and lung cancers.

The lead author, Professor Peter Rothwell, of Oxford University, told journalists in London: ''I have been taking aspirin for several years. I personally believe this.''

Cancer Council Australia's chief executive, Professor Ian Olver, said: ''This is a really interesting study showing something that is cheap and easily available can have a profound effect.''

with Bloomberg