Should I take aspirin to reduce risks of cancer and heart diseases?

I often heard and read about the health benefits of aspirin.  A study summarizing nine randomized placebo-controlled trials with at least 1000 participants each evaluated the role of aspirinr on cardiovascular disease (CVD), nonvascular outcomes, or death.

The study, which involved over 100, 000 participants, showed that aspirin reduced total CVD events by 10%, driven primarily by reduction in nonfatal MI (heart attack). There was no significant reduction in CVD death or cancer death.  There was increased risk of nontrivial bleeding events

The study concluded that for most of us who are healthy and do not have heart diseases, aspirin prophylaxis may not help reducing death from CVD or cancer and may increase bleeding complications.   As most of things in medicine which hardly black or white, you should discuss risks and benefits with your doctors.

Reference:

Seshasai SR, Wijesuriya S, Sivakumaran R, Nethercott S, Erqou S, Sattar N, Ray KK.  Effect of aspirin on vascular and nonvascular outcomes: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(3):209.