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Key words

 aspirin, colorectal cancer, glycolysis

Dear Editor

The previous study has indicated the chemo-protective effect of low-dose aspirin in reducing the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in individuals without cardiovascular disease [1]. However, it is unknown if inhibition of glycolysis in cancer cells by aspirin plays a potential role in this protective effect. Here, we speculate that prophylactic administration of low-dose aspirin decreases the incidence of colorectal cancer upon inhibition of cell glycolysis.

Warburg effect has been consistently observed in and is vital for most types of colorectal cancer, which means cancer cells produce energy by predominant use of glycolysis, irrespective of oxygen availability [2]. Aspirin is a commonly used medication to prevent cardiovascular disease, which has been identified as an inhibitor of glycolysis. Dervisevik et al. [3] reported that aspirin impaired glycolysis in diabetic rat heart as a result of decreased phosphofructokinase (PFK) activity. In addition, aspirin was suggested to attenuate glycolysis in HCT-116 colon cancer cells by acetylation of glycolytic pathway enzymes [4]. What’s more, aspirin was shown to suppress cancer initiation and progression via promoting cell glycolysis inhibition [5]. All these results undoubtedly have shown that aspirin may have great protective effect against CRC.

References

1. Cea Soriano L, Soriano-Gabarró M, García Rodríguez LA (2017) Incidence of colorectal cancer in new users and non-users of low-dose aspirin without existing cardiovascular disease: A cohort study using The Health Improvement Network. Int J Cardiol 248: 376-381. [Crossref]
2. Yeluri S, Madhok B, Prasad KR, Perry SL, Thorpe H, et al. (2010) The mediators of warburg's effect in colorectal cancer: targets for future therapy. Br J Surg 97: 32.
3. Dervisevik M, Dinevska-Kovkarovska S, Dimitrovska M, Cipanovska N, Miova B (2014) High dose of aspirin moderates diabetes-induced changes of heart glycogen/glucose metabolism in rats. J Physiol Sci 64:  411-420. [Crossref]
4. Marimuthu S1, Chivukula RS, Alfonso LF, Moridani M, Hagen FK, et al. (2011) Aspirin acetylates multiple cellular proteins in HCT-116 colon cancer cells: Identification of novel targets, Int J Oncol 39: 1273-1283. [Crossref]
5. Jiang MJ, Dai JJ, Gu DN, Huang Q, Tian L (2016) Aspirin in pancreatic cancer: chemopreventive effects and therapeutic potentials. Biochim Biophys Acta 1866: 163-176. [Crossref]