Women who take aspirin every other day could lower their risk of developing colon cancer by 20 percent, new research has suggested.

For the study, researchers at the Brigham and Women`s Hospital in Boston, looked at 39,876 women in the age group of 45 and older.

For the study, participants took a 100 mg dose pill of aspirin or a placebo every other day from when they were enrolled in the study until 2004.

The participants also completed questionnaires about their cancer status, how often they took their medication, any negative effects, any additional aspirin use and other risk factors.

After the study, researchers followed 33,682 participants, who were not given additional aspirin or placebos for this additional time frame, through March 2012.

After nearly two decades, women in the aspirin group had a 20 percent less chance of developing colon cancer than those who were taking placebos.

And women who continued taking aspirin after the end of the trial had the lowest colon cancer risk, CBS News reported.

The study, funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine.