Statins lowered the risk of dying from breast cancer
Statins - drugs to lower blood cholesterol levels - are among the most prescribed in the world. A new study has shown that, in addition to their direct purpose of preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, drugs in this group have an impact on breast cancer mortality.
From previous scientific work, we know about the potential benefits of statins for breast cancer patients. However, past studies have only found a correlation, not a cause-and-effect relationship between taking the former and survival in this most diagnosed type of cancer in women.
A team of Finnish specialists from several medical schools together with colleagues from Johns Hopkins University (USA) undertook to understand the issue. Their work was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
To find out how the use of statins affects breast cancer mortality, scientists analyzed data from more than 13,000 women from Finland who were diagnosed with invasive, that is, invasive breast cancer affecting surrounding tissues, between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2013.
The sample included 13,378 patients from 54 to 69 years of age (mean age 62 years) who were followed for 2.4 to 9.8 years after diagnosis. During this time, 16.4% of them died, including 7% with cancer as the cause of death.
Elevated total cholesterol levels (more than 193.05 milligrams per deciliter) before breast cancer detection were noted in 31.2% of the patients, and after diagnosis of the disease - in 50.3%. Overall, 40.7% of the study participants had ever used statins.
The analysis showed that women who were prescribed statins by their doctors after being diagnosed with breast cancer experienced a reduction in mortality from the disease, with the risk attenuation being associated with subsequent changes in serum cholesterol levels. In other words, the likelihood of dying from breast cancer decreased in patients whose cholesterol levels dropped after starting statins. Among women whose cholesterol levels did not subsequently drop, statins had little effect on mortality.
Since the researchers looked at a larger sample of data covering a longer time period, the analysis is considered to be of higher quality and conclusive evidence that statins can reduce the risk of death from breast cancer, Dr. Jane Carleton of the R. J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute (New York, USA) said in a commentary for The New York Post.
"Like any other drugs, statins have side effects, but most patients tolerate them normally and they do bring a lot of benefits. It is well known that the use of statins reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke, and now we have data on other benefits of this group of drugs," the specialist added.
The researchers noted that breast cancer is diagnosed in more than two million people each year, and about 680,000 more die from it. Although survival rates for localized tumor types are high, patients often face recurrences, and when metastasis occurs, they often die. The findings of Finnish and American scientists give hope that statins will help make the fight against this serious disease more effective.