what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

Some people diagnosed with colon cancer who take Aspirin may reduce their risk of dying from the disease by nearly 30 per cent compared with those who don't take the pills, a new study suggests.

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) was developed as a painkiller and marketed as a headache medication or to treat aches and pains. Research has also suggested its regular use may help to prevent colorectal cancer in people at high risk of the disease...

The original article can be found at: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/08/11/colon-cancer-aspirin.html

how did it rate? (more information)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

Overall, this was a well written article on the results of this cohort trial of ASA in colon cancer treatment. The author did a good job of outlining the study design (i.e. the specific cohort of patients involved, the fact that ASA was provided alongside the standard treatment of colon cancer etc). Although there was little discussion about the potential harms associated with ASA use, the author did accurately present both the absolute and relative numbers for the benefits of this treatment.

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