The world’s largest clinical trial to see whether taking aspirin every day can stop cancer returning has begun in the UK, DailyMail reports.

The study will recruit 11,000 patients who have recently had – or are having – treatment for bowel, breast, oesophageal, prostate or stomach cancer.

It will run at more than 100 centres in a study that will last for up to 12 years.

Report suggests daily dose of aspirin could ward off cancer

Researchers will compare a group of people taking 300mg of aspirin daily, a group taking 100mg of aspirin daily and a group taking dummy drugs.

The over-the-counter drug is already proven to help prevent heart attacks and strokes in some people.

Previous research has suggested it could also prevent some types of cancer.

The trial is being funded by Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health Research.

Its overall aim is to see whether taking aspirin every day for five years can stop or delay cancers that have been caught and treated at an early stage from coming back.

‘There’s been some interesting research suggesting that aspirin could delay or stop early-stage cancers coming back, but there’s been no randomised trial to give clear proof,’ said Professor Ruth Langley, chief investigator from the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London.

‘This trial aims to answer this question once and for all.

Unless you are on the trial, it’s important not to start taking aspirin until we have the full results as aspirin isn’t suitable for everyone, and it can have serious side-effects

Professor Ruth Langley