For a few years now, scientists have been saying that the common headache medicine Aspirin could help cure cancer only they were not sure how. But a group of scientists from IIT Madras has figured out how to destroy cancer cells with the humble drug, as Times of India reported.

Their study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, found that malignant cells which are high in a protein called voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) were targeted by the Aspirin.

Pharmaceutical researchers will be able to design more potent anti-cancer drugs, said Debanjan Tewari, a researcher who began his PhD work on the protein three years ago, when anti-cancer properties were found in animal studies.

Low-dose aspirin taken everyday can reduce risks of cardiac diseases in high-risk people, as research has shown. "We hope it has the same effect on cancer," said Tewari.

Cancer registries estimate that 14.5 lakh Indians live with the disease. Each year, over 7 lakh new cases are registered and 5.5 lakh die each year from the disease. An estimated 71 percent of all cancer-related deaths occur in the age group of 30-69 years.

Rs 1.75 lakh is the average amount a patient has to spend on cancer treatment. The cost is variable and can considerably shoot up depending on the stage, type of cancer and the hospital offering treatment.

For the IIT-M team, the results of the study are more than academic.

Low-cost molecules like Aspirin killing cancer can pave the way for affordable therapy.

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