Statins Lower Prostate Cancer Risk
Statins Lower Prostate Cancer Risk
Studies Also Tout Vitamin D for Lung Cancer, Calcium for Colon Cancer
April 18, 2005 (Anaheim, Calif.) -- Certain cholesterol-lowering drugs may help prevent prostate cancer, according to evidence presented at a meeting of cancer experts, while other studies showed the benefits of nutrients to fight lung and colon cancers.
In the latest research to show that the popular cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are good for more than the heart,statins are good for more than the heart, a 10-year study of more than 30,000 men shows that statins may slash the risk of advanced prostate cancer in half.
"The results are promising," says Elizabeth Platz, ScD, MPH, a cancer epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "The longer the men took the statins, the lower the risk of advanced prostate cancer."
Statin use did not appear to lower the chance a man would develop early cancer that was still confined to the prostate itself, she tells WebMD.
Statins used to treat high cholesterol include Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol, and Zocor.
The new study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, included more than 34,000 men who were free of prostate cancer in 1990.
Every two years, the men were asked whether they took cholesterol-lowering drugs -- statins or other drugs -- and if they had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. "If they said they had cancer, we confirmed the diagnosis," Platz says.
Compared with men who didn't take cholesterol-lowering drugs, those who did take them had nearly one-half the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer. Risk decreased with increasing duration of use, Platz notes.
So how did she know that statins -- not other cholesterol-lowering drugs -- were responsible for the protective effects?
"We can't rule anything out," Platz says. "But on the 2000 questionnaire, we specifically asked about statins and found that 90% of men on a cholesterol-lowering drug were on a statin."
Plus, some laboratory and animal studies hint of a biological rationale for using the drugs, she says. For example, statins may promote cancer cell death.
Statins Lower Prostate Cancer Risk
Studies Also Tout Vitamin D for Lung Cancer, Calcium for Colon Cancer
April 18, 2005 (Anaheim, Calif.) -- Certain cholesterol-lowering drugs may help prevent prostate cancer, according to evidence presented at a meeting of cancer experts, while other studies showed the benefits of nutrients to fight lung and colon cancers.
Statins Cut Prostate Cancer Risk
In the latest research to show that the popular cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are good for more than the heart,statins are good for more than the heart, a 10-year study of more than 30,000 men shows that statins may slash the risk of advanced prostate cancer in half.
"The results are promising," says Elizabeth Platz, ScD, MPH, a cancer epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. "The longer the men took the statins, the lower the risk of advanced prostate cancer."
Statin use did not appear to lower the chance a man would develop early cancer that was still confined to the prostate itself, she tells WebMD.
Statins used to treat high cholesterol include Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol, and Zocor.
Advanced Prostate Cancer Falls 50%
The new study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, included more than 34,000 men who were free of prostate cancer in 1990.
Every two years, the men were asked whether they took cholesterol-lowering drugs -- statins or other drugs -- and if they had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. "If they said they had cancer, we confirmed the diagnosis," Platz says.
Compared with men who didn't take cholesterol-lowering drugs, those who did take them had nearly one-half the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer. Risk decreased with increasing duration of use, Platz notes.
So how did she know that statins -- not other cholesterol-lowering drugs -- were responsible for the protective effects?
"We can't rule anything out," Platz says. "But on the 2000 questionnaire, we specifically asked about statins and found that 90% of men on a cholesterol-lowering drug were on a statin."
Plus, some laboratory and animal studies hint of a biological rationale for using the drugs, she says. For example, statins may promote cancer cell death.
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