An aspirin a day could save thousands of Scots from developing cancer every year, scientists have found.

Charities have hailed the discovery as "fantastic" while independent experts say it proves the 'amazing' versatility of the household drug.

Scientists from Edinburgh and Dundee found that a daily aspirin slashed death rates from cancer by up to 60 per cent. The discovery, following a 20-year study of more than 25,000 patients, offers hope to millions of Scots.

Scotland is the worst affected country in the UK and among the worst in Europe for cancer survival rates, with women particularly badly hit.

When aspirin was taken every day for five years, the death rate from all cancers fell by 34%.

After 20 years, the mortality rate fell by 10 per cent for prostate cancer, 30 per cent for lung cancer, 40 per cent for colon cancer and 60 per cent for throat cancer.

However, the task force of scientists admitted that during the trial many test patients did not take the aspirin for the full 20 years - so they may even have underestimated how dramatically cancer rates would be cut.

Jean Galbraith, president of charity Scottish Cancer Support, said the breakthrough was "fantastic", and added: "It's definitely very good news."

The research was performed by Professor Gerald Fowkes and Professor Charles Warlow from Edinburgh University and Professor Julia Belch from Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, with experts from Oxford, London and Japan.

The drug improves the life chances of men, women, smokers and non-smokers equally. Scientists believe those who start taking the drug in their 40s and 50s stand to benefit most from warding off cancer in old age.

Aspirin can cause fatal stomach bleeding in some patients – but even after this was factored in, self-medicating – or 'chemoprevention' – reduced the death rate across the population by 10 per cent. And scientists said taking aspirin was more cost-effective than breast cancer and prostate screening – justifying the cost of more research into drugs similar to aspirin with fewer side effects.

Prof. Alastair Watson of East Anglia University's, an expert in the field, said the findings were a "very important new development in our understanding of how to prevent cancer in general. It is further proof that aspirin is, by a long way, the most amazing drug in the world."

The research is to be published today in The Lancet.

 

'Wonder drug' with many uses

Dubbed a 'wonder drug' by its German inventors, acetylsalicylic acid - or aspirin - is one of the world's most common drugs.

More than 40,000 tonnes are swallowed each year, mainly to suppress aches and pains, fevers and inflammation.

Man has chewed plants containing the acid to relieve migraines for thousands of years. It thins blood, making it effective at preventing strokes and heart attacks caused by clogged arteries, and curing chest pains brought on by pericarditis.

It is also linked to preventing deep vein thrombosis.