Table of contents
- Trial overview
- Main conditions studied
- Study designs and phases
- Key endpoints and what they mean
- Who may participate
- Selected trials
- Patient-focused summary of the research
Trial overview
The trial data show many studies of Acetylsalicylic Acid in different diseases and care settings.[1][2] These studies test whether it helps with prevention, treatment support, or long-term outcomes, and many compare it with placebo or other antiplatelet drugs.[3]
Main conditions studied
Many trials focus on cardiovascular disease, including acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, stent treatment, and bypass surgery.[4][5] Other studies look at stroke, transient ischemic attack, and brain infarction, including both symptomatic and covert (silent) brain infarction.[6][7]
There are also studies in pregnancy, such as preeclampsia prevention in twin pregnancy, chronic hypertension in pregnancy, and pregnancy after assisted reproductive technology or frozen embryo transfer.[4][8] Other trial areas include cancer, respiratory disease, sudden hearing loss, superficial venous malformations in children, and central retinal artery occlusion.[10][11]
Study designs and phases
Most studies are Phase 3 trials, which means they are larger studies used to compare treatments and measure important patient outcomes.[12] The data also include Phase 2 trials, Phase 4 trials, and low-intervention studies, showing that Acetylsalicylic Acid is being studied across different stages of research.[13]
Several trials use randomized designs, meaning participants are assigned by chance to different study groups.[14] Some are double-blind or placebo-controlled, which helps reduce bias when judging whether the treatment works.[15]
Key endpoints and what they mean
The main outcomes often measure serious events such as stroke, myocardial infarction, death, bleeding, or graft failure.[16] In heart studies, researchers often use combined endpoints like MACE or MACCE, which group several major heart and brain events into one result.[17]
Other trials measure disease-specific outcomes, such as preeclampsia before 37 weeks, recurrence of cancer, pain scores, platelet reactivity, or functional recovery after stroke.[18][19] Some studies also track quality of life, symptom scales, imaging findings, or laboratory markers like platelet aggregation and blood clotting tests.[20]
Who may participate
Eligibility depends on the disease being studied, and the trial data show very specific groups such as patients with acute ischemic stroke, people after PCI or CABG, pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia, children with venous malformations, and patients with cancer or lung disease.[21] Some trials also focus on older adults, high bleeding risk patients, or people with genetic or imaging-based findings that place them in a special risk group.[22]
Several studies compare one antiplatelet treatment against dual antiplatelet therapy, which means two drugs used together to reduce clotting risk.[23] Other studies test whether treatment can be reduced, stopped earlier, or tailored to the person’s risk profile, such as genotype-guided or CT-guided approaches.[24]
Selected trials
CANCAS studies patients with acute ischemic stroke and carotid artery stenosis who need mechanical thrombectomy and emergent carotid stenting, with the main outcome being stent patency at 24 hours.[1] ASPIRING studies survivors of intracerebral haemorrhage and asks whether starting antiplatelet monotherapy is better than avoiding antiplatelet drugs for preventing major cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events.[2]
Dan-DAPT studies patients after myocardial infarction and looks at net adverse clinical events and bleeding at 12 months, using different antiplatelet strategies.[3] ASPRE-T studies twin pregnancies and asks whether low-dose aspirin started in the first trimester can reduce preterm preeclampsia.[4]
Add-Aspirin studies people with common non-metastatic solid tumors, including breast, colon, rectal, stomach, oesophageal, and prostate cancer, and measures survival and recurrence outcomes.[10] PROTECT-U studies unruptured intracranial aneurysms and measures aneurysm rupture or growth on imaging.[11]
Patient-focused summary of the research
Across these trials, Acetylsalicylic Acid is being tested in many ways: as a preventive treatment, as part of dual therapy, as a short-term treatment after procedures, and as a long-term strategy.[12][16] The studies do not all ask the same question, but they share a common goal: to learn when Acetylsalicylic Acid helps most, and when a different strategy may be better.[18]
For patients, the most important idea is that these trials are not just testing the drug itself, but also the best way to use it in specific groups.[23] That is why the trial populations, treatment plans, and outcomes are very different from one study to another.[24]
