Aspirin can reduce the risk of cancer - and we're starting to understand why

The latest findings offer a remarkable new twist in the tale of one of our oldest and most effective medications. In the late 19th Century, archaeologists uncovered 4,400-year-old clay tablets from the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nippur – in what is now Iraq – offering lists of a range of medicines crafted from botanical, animal and mineral compounds. Among them were instructions for a substance derived from the willow tree. We now know that this contains a chemical called salicin, which the body can convert into salicylic acid that helps to calm pain. It is very similar in structure to modern aspirin – acetylsalicylic acid – but more irritating for the stomach. Other ancient civilisations – including the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans – also used the remedy.