Previous research has suggested that aspirin can protect against bowel cancer, although results for other cancers, such as breast and prostate, were less clear-cut.
'in effect, around 60 people would have to take the aspirin continuously for around 5 years to prevent one death from bowel cancer during a 20-year period,' he says.
In 2007 the charity there was convincing scientific evidence that consumption of processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer.
He believes that aspirin's effect on bowel cancer is unlikely to be an isolated phenomenon, given the similarities in how cancers of different types develop.
One recent study reported that eating more than one serving of processed red meat per day resulted in a much higher risk of cancer, particularly bowel cancer.
There was a case with a bowel cancer drug - if you gave that drug, which costs several thousand pounds, it continued life for six weeks on.
It has found that consuming bacon, ham, hot dogs, salami and some sausages heightened the risk of bowel cancer.
Nick Henderson of the European aspirin Foundation, which represents the industry, said: 'the best evidence for aspirin in protecting against cancer has been from studies on bowel cancer.
He thought regulatory approval should be sought for doctors to prescribe aspirin as a preventive medicine for those at a higher risk of bowel cancer.
For bowel cancer, previous studies show that increasing alcohol intake by 100g per week increases the cancer risk by 19%.
Colon cancer, also called colorectal cancer or bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix.
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