There are now nearly 30 hospitals across the UK recruiting volunteers for the Asp-PSC Study. Check them out and sign up to a special alert from Mark on new hospitals opening in your area.

The Asp-PSC Study is investigating whether people with PSC and IBD who take aspirin have a lower risk of developing a PSC-related cancer and a lower risk of needing a liver transplant. This study is needed because some people with PSC are at higher risk of these issues than the general population and we want to tackle that.

Studies have shown that aspirin may help prevent cancers but research published in Nature this month showed for the first time that aspirin may stop some cancers from spreading (metastasis) in mice. This study was not related to PSC but is important because while cancer starts out in one location, 9 out of 10 of cancer deaths occur when cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

The researchers found that some mice they were studying were less likely to have metastasis, and that this was associated with them missing a certain gene. The gene (that they don’t have) helps to turn down the immune system response that attacks the cancer spreading cells. They then worked out that aspirin changes this process and is involved in switching it on so that the immune system knows to attack the metastatic cancer cells.

Does this mean we should all rush out and buy aspirin? No. We’ve a lot to learn about the role of aspirin in PSC. The researchers in this mouse study caution that, in some people, aspirin can have serious side-effects. However, clinical trials such as Asp-PSC are underway to understand how it helps under close medical supervision.

Take part

Asp-PSC is one of the largest studies ever undertaken for PSC and hospitals all over the UK are recruiting volunteers to take part.