user: Q: POLS TAKE SWING AT STADIUM PLAN

Wednesday, March 3th 1999, 2:10AM

Mayor Giuliani's plan to build minor league baseball stadiums for the Yankees and Mets drew fire yesterday from City Council members who voiced doubt about spending $49 million on the ballparks.

"I don't remember there being any . . . groundswell of support to have minor league baseball in Brooklyn," said Councilman Kenneth Fisher (D-Brooklyn).

Giuliani has proposed building a $20 million stadium in Coney Island for a Mets minor league team and a $29 million ballpark on Staten Island for a Yankees minor league team. The city would build both at no cost to the teams.

The mayor also has called for spending at least $882 million to build stadiums for major league teams, mainly the Yankees and Mets, plus $30 million for another Coney Island stadium, the Sportsplex, for amateur sports.

Charles Millard, president of the city Economic Development Corp., touted the minor league ballparks yesterday at a Council budget hearing.

"I think you would agree that this will probably make Coney Island better than it is now," Millard told Fisher.

"I'm not entirely convinced of that," Fisher replied. "If you ask me what we can do with $30 million for Coney Island, I'd start by fixing up the Boardwalk, which has fallen into disrepair."

Fisher, who plans to run for mayor in 2001, also questioned whether the ballparks would stir up much economic activity.

"This is not Iowa," Fisher said. "There's a lot of competition for people's entertainment dollars here."

Millard said his agency analyzed stadium deals in 25 cities and concluded the minor league ballparks are worthwhile. But he rejected requests to see the survey, saying disclosure could harm lease talks with the Yankees and Mets.

Councilman Jerome O'Donovan (D-S.I.), who chaired the hearing, scoffed at the secrecy. "We're not building atomic bombs," he said.

O'Donovan said the Council might deny funds for the minor league ballparks.

But a spokesman for City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, who has final say in Council budget deals with Giuliani, said he backs the deals and will sign off on the $49 million.

A: Mayor Giuliani's plan to build minor league baseball stadiums for the Yankees and Mets drew fire yesterday from City Council members who voiced doubt about spending $49 million on the ballparks. "I don't remember there being any . . . groundswell of support to have minor league baseball in Brooklyn,"said Councilman Kenneth Fisher (D-Brooklyn). Giuliani has proposed building a $20 million stadium in Coney Island for a Mets minor league team and a $29 million ballpark on


Q:
Low-dose aspirin may cut colon cancer risk, study finds
Here are the American Cancer Society's current guidelines on checking for colorectal cancer and polyps (often precursors to cancer). Starting at age 50, men and women should follow one of these testing schedules:

To detect both polyps and cancer (preferred) :

- A flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years or a colonoscopy every 10 years (sigmoidoscopy examines the lower part of the colon, colonoscopy is more extensive)

- Double-contrast barium enema once every five years

- Or CT ("virtual") colonoscopy once every five years

To primarily detect a cancer:

- Fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year

- Stool DNA test (SDNA), interval as yet uncertain

Some people may require a different screening schedule due to personal or family history; the cancer society recommends that you talk with your doctor to determine which schedule is best for you.

LONDON (AP)  A new analysis suggests that taking a low dose of

may modestly reduce the risk of developing

or dying of the disease.

But experts say aspirin's side effects of bleeding and stomach problems are too worrisome for most people to take the drug for that reason alone. A U.S. health task force specifically recommends against it for those at average risk.

Previous studies have found a daily dose of at least 500 milligrams of aspirin could prevent colon cancer, but the adverse effects of such a high dose outweighed the benefits. Now, researchers say a low dose, equivalent to a baby or regular aspirin, also appears to work. But side effects are still a concern.

The European researchers pooled the 20-year results of four trials with more than 14,000 people. Those studies were designed to study aspirin's use in preventing strokes, not colon cancer.

The researchers tracked who developed the disease through cancer registries and death certificates in Britain and Sweden, where the studies were done.

They found those who took a low dose daily for about six years reduced their colon cancer risk by 24% and their risk of dying from the disease by 35%. That was compared to those who took a dummy pill or nothing. There seemed to be no advantage to taking more than a baby-sized dose.

The studies used European baby aspirin of 75 milligrams and regular aspirin, 300 milligrams. US. baby aspirin is 81 milligrams and regular aspirin, 325 milligrams.

Some researchers said the drug would benefit certain people, though no one should start taking aspirin daily without consulting their doctor.

If taken in high doses over a long period, aspirin can irritate the stomach, intestines and bowel, causing lesions and major bleeding.

"Anyone with any risk factors such as a family history (of colon cancer) or a previous polyp should definitely take aspirin," said Peter Rothwell, a professor at the University of Oxford and one of the paper's authors. The finding also "tips the balance" for anyone considering aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes, he said.

No funding was provided for the study and it was published online Friday in the journal Lancet. Rothwell and some of his co-authors have been paid for work by the makers of anti-clotting drugs like aspirin.

Other experts warned against aspirin for the general population.

"It's not for everybody," said Robert Benamouzig, of Avicenne Hospital in Bobigny, France, who co-authored a commentary in the Lancet. He said he would advise some of his high-risk patients to take aspirin, but only after explaining its side effects.

Scientists think aspirin works by stopping production of a certain enzyme linked to cancers including those of the breast, stomach, esophagus and colon.

The trials analyzed in the Lancet paper were done before the widespread introduction of screening tests like sigmoidoscopies and colonoscopies. Rothwell said taking aspirin would still help, because the drug seems to stop cancers in the upper bowel, not usually caught by screening tests.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in developed countries, and there are about 1 million new cases and 600,000 deaths worldwide every year. The average person has about a 5% chance of developing the disease in their lifetime.

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assistant: A new analysis suggests that taking a low dose of aspirin may modestly reduce the risk of developing colon cancer or dying of the disease.