This article is from the WebMD Medical News Archive

Statin Drugs Linked to Reduced Cancer Risk

New research shows that the popular cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may slash a person's chance of developing breast, prostate, and lung tumors in half. By Charlene  Laino WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda  Nazario, MD on Monday, May 16, 2005 Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Cut Breast, Lung, Prostate Cancer Risk by Half

This story is part of WebMD's coverage of the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Other stories include: Femara Beats Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer | Avastin Improves Survival in Lung Cancer | Regular Alcohol Intake Ups Breast Cancer Risk | Evista May Help Prevent Endometrial Cancer | Hormone May Prevent Prostate Cancer | Aspirin Prevents Colon Cancer Return | Low-Fat Diet May Cut Return of Breast Cancer | Hormonal Contraceptive Fights Hot Flashes | Exercise May Cut Risk of Colon Cancer's Return | Pill Fights Deadly Blood Cancer

May 16, 2005 (Orlando, Fla.) -- Evidence continues to mount that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins can reduce the risk of a variety of cancers. New research shows that the popular statin drugs may slash a person's chance of developing breast,breast, prostate, and lung tumors in half.

Three new studies show that "statins prevent healthy cells from transforming into cancerous cells," says researcher Ruby Kochhar, MD, a medical oncologist at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va. "There was a protective effect in every type of cancer studied."

The new studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Statins are one of the most widely prescribed drugs used in the U.S. to treat high cholesterol. They include medications such as Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, and Zocor and work by blocking the body's ability to produce cholesterol.

Statins Reduce Breast, Lung, Prostate Risk

In the studies presented, researchers collected health information on more than 1.4 million men and women from the Veterans Administration. The studies all took into account risk factors for the type of cancer being studied, including age, smoking, and alcohol use.

For the breast cancer analysis, they compared statin use among 556 female veterans diagnosed with breast cancer and 39,865 women of similar ages without the disease.

They show that statin use was associated with half the risk of breast cancer.

During a six-year period, women who used statins reduced their risk of breast cancer by more than half (51%) compared with nonusers, says researcher Vikas Khurana, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport.

A second analysis shows a reduction in the risk of lung cancer. Statin users were 48% less likely to develop lung cancer than nonusers, Khurana tells WebMD. This study included nearly 450,000 people, 10% of whom were women.

A third analysis shows that statin use reduces the rate of prostate cancer by 54%, says researcher Rakesh Singal, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami.

The longer the men took the cholesterol-lowering drugs, the greater the benefit, he tells WebMD.

Men who took them for a year or less had almost no protection, while those who took them for more than four years saw their risk of prostate cancer drop by nearly 90%.

Questions Remain About Statins' Cancer-Fighting Ability

The researchers did not look at whether the type or dose of statins affected the results, although they plan to do so in future studies.

Also, the information about statins is based on prescription records, Signal says, so it's not possible to say whether the men who were prescribed the drugs actually took them properly.

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