The daily regimen of taking aspirin to protect cardiovascular health could also serve to reduce men’s risks of developing prostate cancer.

At least those are the claims based upon the findings of a new study. Presented at a Monday meeting for the American Association for Cancer Research, the study was part of a group of studies that found not only potential cancer preventive benefits to long term daily doses of aspirin, but also the possible mechanisms behind why aspirin would work in this way.

Aspirin has been shown in the past to be effective at preventing colon cancer as well as other types of tumors. The most recent study found that men who took small daily doses of aspirin were 13 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer and had a 17 percent lower incidence of high risk tumor development.

Until recently, the reasons why this protective benefit existed remained a mystery. A second study presented alongside the first shows that aspirin could work by reducing the production and release of hormones associated with encouraging cancer growth.

According to researchers, when aspirin is taken daily it suppresses the production of Cox-2, which decreases levels of another chemical, called PGE2, known to encourage metastasis among cancers.

Researchers say that those who take aspirin over the course of five years or more experience fewers instances of cancer as well as heart disease. They also claim that this result could serve to explain why cancer patients who take daily aspirin after diagnosis experience lower rates of their cancers metastasizing. It is even possible that these protective effects could generalize to other types of cancer as well, such as breast or lung cancer.

More research is needed to determine if aspirin is effective enough to warrant being utilized in this way despite the potential side effects associated with prolonged use of the drug. Side effects of daily aspirin can be bothersome and include issues like gastrointestinal bleeding.