This research study is studying a drug intervention as a possible chemoprevention strategy for colorectal cancer. The name of the study intervention involved in this study is: * Low Dose Aspirin
This is prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial to measure the effects of daily low-dose (81 mg/day) aspirin on tissue, urine, plasma, and stool biomarkers associated with colorectal cancer with a focus on the effect of age. It is a direct extension of an earlier study: ASPIRED trial NCT02394769 Aspirin is part of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) family, which are drugs routinely used for their pain-killing (analgesic), fever-reducing (antipyretic), or anti-inflammatory properties. Most NSAIDs are available as over-the-counter formulations. Substantial evidence has conclusively demonstrated that aspirin reduces the risk of colorectal polyps and cancer, yet there remains uncertainty surrounding its mode of action. Aspirin may prevent colorectal cancer through multiple interrelated biological mechanisms including the reduction of chronic inflammation, a known risk factor for colorectal cancer. Aspirin has been shown to directly affect prostaglandins, a class of biologic molecules that play important roles in controlling the normal inflammatory responses within your body. The exact mechanism by which aspirin acts to prevent colorectal cancer is still unknown.This study is looking at the mechanisms of aspirin's anti-cancer effect, which may lead to the discovery of novel specific characteristics (markers) that can be used to select patients for aspirin treatment. the study will also look at the effect age may have on these mechanisms. The research study procedures include screening for eligibility and study treatment and scheduling two clinical research visits immediately before and after intervention with the study drug. Participants will be randomized into two groups. * Arm A: Daily Placebo (no aspirin) for the duration of the study. * Arm B: Daily low dose aspirin (81 mg/day) for the duration of the study. Participants may be contacted periodically after the study (no more than 1- 2 times annually) for up to 10 years to follow-up on additional information including any continued aspirin use or follow-up colonoscopy results. It is expected that about 160 people will take part in this research study. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is supporting this research study by providing funding for the research study.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
161
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Change of Intestinal Stem Cell Marker Gene Expression
All patients with available pre- and post-treatment samples containing high-quality RNA sequencing reads from at least 1,000 EPCAM+ single cells per time point were included in the analysis. Single cells were clustered according to cell type. The proportion (%) of cells expressing LGR5 (LGR5+), an accepted intestinal stem cell (ISC) marker of cell stemness, among the ISC cluster was calculated for each participant at each time point. The change in proportion of LGR5+ ISCs within each individual in post-treatment samples from pre-treatment samples was calculated.
Time frame: 2 months
Change in Urinary PGE-M
Comparing change in PGE-M between treatment groups (aspirin and placebo) using a two-sample t-test.
Time frame: 2 months
Change in Urinary Plasma GDF-15
Comparing change inGDF-15 between aspirin and placebo groups, using a two-sample t-test.
Time frame: 2 months
ChIP-seq Analysis of Colonic Epithelium
Analysis of the ChIP-seq data (\>60 million reads, 50-bp paired end) using the publicly available Cistrome Analysis Pipeline
Time frame: 2 months
Gene Expression Analysis of Colonic Epithelium
RNA-seq sequence data (\> 50 million reads) will be mapped to hg19 through use of TopHat2.
Time frame: 2 months
Change in Microbiome
Aspirin use and dose will be associated with microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using the Biobakery3 computational analysis pipeline.
Time frame: 2 months
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