Statin - Is it the answer to prostate cancer?

A new research has shed light on the relation between the use of statins and reduced diagnosis of prostate cancer. The findings of the research are sure to bring good news to more than 200, 000 American men who remain at the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer annually.

The study conducted by a team belonging to the Brigham and Women�s Hospital in Boston clearly indicates that men taking statins have 60 per cent less chances of developing high-grade prostate cancer. Not only that, reduction was also noticed in the development of low-grade prostate cancer as the study showed men being 13 per cent less susceptible to the disease.

The research was concluded after a thorough analysis of data collected from around 55, 000 men from Veterinary Affairs New England Healthcare System. The data which consisted of both paper-based and electronic information included clinical information of men taking either statins or anti-hypertension medication.

1,681 patients took part in the study that was conducted between 1995 and 2007. 382 patients out of these 1,681 were known to be on statins. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network classified 489 patients to be in the zone of high-risk and it was found that 77 out of them were on statins. Not surprisingly, the patients who were on statins showed an improved PSA (prostate specific antigen) release while the other 412, not on statins, failed to do so.

Marisa A. Kollmeier, MD, Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, Manhattan, New York, led the team of researchers. She later wrote that their findings suggest anti-cancer activity of statins. She also writes that statins do provide radiosensitization when used in conjunction with radiotherapy.

As the therapeutic effect of statins on prostate cancer patients is yet to be clearly known, Kollmeier also mentioned that a randomized trial will most certainly be needed in order to establish the role of statins in therapy for prostate cancer patients.

This study was funded by the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program and was presented at the Innovative Minds in Prostate Cancer Today (IMPaCT) conference held in Orlando, Florida. The team comprised of some of the top researchers like Richard Scranton, Wildon Farwell, J. Michael Gaziano, Elizabeth Lawler and Leonard D�Avolio.

The beneficial effects of statins further extend to prevention of relapse of prostate cancer. The March issue of International Journal of Radiation Oncology *Biology* Physics recently published a report that said that use of statin strikingly improved prostate specific antigen relapse-free survival in patients undergoing radiotherapy with a high risk of cancer recurrence.

Much to the delight of researchers as well as patients, many studies have discovered that cholesterol-lowering statins prove to be beneficial to the control of prostate cancer, especially following radiotherapy or chemotherapy of urothelial, hepatobiliary and malignant colorectal cancer.