Aspirin has been an especially attractive candidate for population-based prevention of cancer due to remarkably consistent evidence demonstrating that aspirin is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer and cardiovascular events. This combined benefit led to a first-of-its-kind U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation for population use of aspirin for prevention of cardiovascular events and colorectal cancer among individuals with a certain level of cardiovascular risk. However, in 2022 the USPSTF released guidelines reversing this recommendation based on growing data that the effect of aspirin may differ according to individual factors, including age. This decision highlights the limitation of a “one-size-fits-all” approach to aspirin and the imperative for “precision medicine,” the use of genetic and molecular biomarkers to optimize prevention.
In this presentation, Professor Andrew T. CHAN will discuss translating the promise of “precision prevention” to the clinic.
[Seminar] Aspirin and the Prevention of Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
Date: | 1 March 2024 (Friday) |
Time: | 11:00am – 12:00pm |
Venue: | Seminar Room 1-2, School of Public Health Building, Prince of Wales Hospital |
Speaker: | Prof. Andrew T. CHAN Daniel K. Podolsky Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health |
Moderator: | Prof. Martin WONG Professor, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
About the speaker
Professor Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH is a gastroenterologist, the Daniel K. Podolsky Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Director of Epidemiology at the MGH Cancer Center, and co-leader of the Cancer Epidemiology Program of the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center. Through contributions ranging from clinical trials to population epidemiology, Dr. Chan’s research focuses on the role of aspirin, diet, lifestyle, and screening for prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers through molecular approaches linked with epidemiologic data. He is supported as an Outstanding Investigator of the NCI and several awards from NCI, NIA, and NIDDK. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians and an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor.
About the moderator
Professor Martin C. S. Wong is a specialist in Family Medicine and a researcher in the field of cancer screening and prevention of chronic diseases. He has been the Co-Chairman of the Grant Review Board, Health and Medical Research Fund, the Health Bureau (HHB); member of the Research Council of HHB; Convener of the Advisory Group on Hong Kong Reference Framework for Care of Diabetes and Hypertension in Primary Care Settings; and the Editor-in-Chief of the Hong Kong Medical Journal. He has over 350 publications in peer-reviewed journals and ranked the top 0.07% in his research field by expertscape. His research work was published in international journals including Nature series, Lancet Hematology, JAMA Oncology, Gastroenterology, Gut, European Heart Journal, and European Urology.
In 2016, he was conferred as an Honorary Fellow by the Hong Kong Academy of Nursing to recognize his achievements in the profession and contributions to primary care. He was appointed as Fellows of various Academies, Royal Colleges and professional societies. He is currently taking adjunct appointments as Professor of the Peking Union Medical College in March 2019; Professor of Global Health by the Peking University, and Professor of Public Health in the Fudan University.