Small doses of aspirin can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Everyone knows that small doses of aspirin are good for the heart, but that’s not all they can do for you. A growing amount of research suggests that aspirin can also reduce the risk of one of the most deadly forms of cancer.

A new study, published Thursday by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health, found that aspirin taken daily in small doses could reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 48 percent.

Pancreatic cancer kills about 40000 Americans every year. The five-year survival rate is only 5 percent.

“The idea that there is something that can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer is remarkable and exciting to me as a physician whose patients have had—and died from—pancreatic cancer,” says CBS News medical correspondent Dr. John LaPock. “We can't do much for most people who get pancreatic cancer.”

For the study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, scientists looked at aspirin intake and medical history of 362 patients with pancreatic cancer and 690 patients who died from the disease (2005-2009).

Researchers found that patients who took small doses of aspirin (75-325 mg) for six years or less had a 39 percent lower risk of getting pancreatic cancer, and people who took it at least 10 for years reduced the likelihood of getting sick by 60 percent.

The authors suggest that people who have had a history of pancreatic cancer in their families should consider taking aspirin, writes AmericaRu.com