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Cholesterol Levels, Statins are Not Associated with
Breast Cancer Risk
Oct. 24, 2005 - Cholesterol levels and use of
statins, or other lipid-lowering drugs, has no association with breast
cancer risk, according to a large study published in the October 24
issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
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Although some evidence suggests that statins (the
most commonly used type of lipid-lowering drugs) may inhibit tumor
development and may work in combination with chemotherapy drugs against
cancer, studies on the association between the use of statins and breast
cancer have had conflicting results, according to background information
in this article.
At least two studies published in 2003 claimed
statins appeared to be effective in preventing breast cancer. A study by
University of Pittsburgh researchers focused on older women and found
cholesterol-lowering medications may help to prevent breast cancer. This
was published in the October 2003 issue of the Journal of Women's
Health. They viewed data on 7,528 white women age 65 years and older.
The second 2003 study said statin drugs may also
help prevent development of breast cancer, according to studies of the
drugs in laboratory cell cultures. The investigators, from The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, found that a side
effect of statis is to allow body cells to maintain high levels of
proteins which stop cancer cells from growing. Their findings were
published in the Proceedings for the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American
Association for Cancer Research.
In the latest study, Heather Eliassen, Sc.D., of
the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Mass., and colleagues analyzed
data from the Nurses' Health Study to evaluate the associations of
statins, lipid-lowering drugs and serum cholesterol levels (blood levels
of cholesterol) with breast cancer.
Serum cholesterol levels and use of statins and
lipid-lowering drugs were determined for 79,994 women through
questionnaires completed in 1988, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Cases of
breast cancer, diagnosed from the start of follow-up (1988) through May
31, 2000, were identified on biennial questionnaires. Medical records
were used to confirm cancer reports.
There were 3,177 incident cases of invasive breast
cancer, including 1,727 in the analysis among statin users.
Neither current nor long-term use of statins nor
other lipid-lowering drugs were associated with breast cancer risk, the
researchers report. There was no association between reported total
serum cholesterol levels and breast cancer risk in either pre-menopausal
or post-menopausal women.
"In summary, the results of this study suggest that
the beneficial effect of statins on breast cancer observed in
experimental studies may not be applicable to humans," the authors
conclude.
"We also found no associations of general
lipid-lowering drugs and serum cholesterol levels with breast cancer
risk. Further study is warranted to evaluate the associations of longer
durations of statin use and specific types of statins with breast cancer
risk."
(Arch Intern Med. 2005; 165:2264-2271.
www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: This study was supported by grants
from the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md., the Department of
Defense, Washington, D.C. and a Cissy Hornung Clinical Research
Professorship from the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Ga.
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