The regular low-dosage administration of aspirin to people aged 50 and over for a period of more than 10 years could significantly reduce the mortality rates from esophageal, gastric, and colon cancers, an expert said here Friday.

Speaking at the Scientific Roundtable organized by pharmaceutical company Gerot Lannach, British cancer specialist Jack Cuzick, director at the Wolfston Institute of Preventive Medicine at the Queen Mary University of London, said that through the use of aspirin in this way there would be 441 fewer deaths in Austria, and 50,000 fewer deaths in Europe each year.

Austria Press Agency quoted Cuzick as saying the public must become more aware of this preventative effect of aspirin, which after not smoking is the most effective means of avoiding malignant tumors.

The benefits to adverse effects ratio of taking aspirin is eight to one, with the greatest risk being bleeding, he said. This issue is currently subject to extensive research, with one trigger being the stomach bacteria heliobacter pylori, of which 20 percent of middle-aged people are effected without being aware of it.

The expert said this bacteria can, however, be treated quite simply with the use of antibiotics.

Other risk factors are diabetes and high blood pressure, he said.