London, Apr 29 : A daily dose of aspirin in your 40s could cut the risk of developing cancer later in life, a new study claims.

A study published in the Lancet Oncology suggests taking aspirin at any age before cancer begins to develop - and for at least ten years - would maximise the drug''s potential to prevent the fatal disease.

Researchers believe the drug blocks the effects of the COX enzymes - proteins involved in inflammation and found at unusually high levels in several types of cancer, reports The Daily Express.

Study author Professor Jack Cuzick of the Cancer Research UK Centre for Epidemiology at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "Taking aspirin regularly in your mid-40s could maximise the effect this drug has on preventing cancer.

"Taking aspirin at this age, which is about the time pre-cancerous lesions usually begin to develop, may be the best time to stop the disease progressing."(ANI)