Cholesterol-lowering drugs may also lower PSA, but whether they cut cancer risk is still...( DURHAM N.C. -- Popular cholesterol-b...),Health
DURHAM, N.C. -- Popular cholesterol-busting drugs -- statins -- appear to lower men's PSA values along with their cholesterol levels, according to researchers in the Duke Prostate Center and the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. But whether the drugs prevent prostate cancer growth or just mask it is not known yet.
"Previous studies had shown that men taking statins were less likely to develop advanced forms of prostate cancer but no one had looked at the relationship between the drugs and prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, a biomarker that is correlated with cancer growth and is the most common prostate cancer screening tool," said Stephen Freedland, M.D., a urologist at Duke and senior investigator on the study. "Our study represents a move to understand if and how statins influence prostate biology and whether they are really reducing cancer risk, or simply making PSA a less effective screening tool."
The study was published in the October 28, 2008 issue Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The research was funded by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, The United States Department of Defense and the American Urological Association Foundation's Astellas Rising Star in Urology Award, given to Freedland.
The researchers reviewed the medical records of 1214 men who were prescribed statins between 1990 and 2006 at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Men with prostate cancer were excluded from the study.
They found that PSA levels declined by an average of about four percent after starting statins, compared to no decline in the year before starting the statins, Freedland said. Bigger declines occurred in men who took higher doses of statins and who had the largest decreases in cholesterol levels. Also, the higher the PSA levels were initially, the more they were seen to decline, Freedland said.
"This is important because we had some men who started with PSA levels that looked to
'/>"/>
| Contact: Lauren Shaftel Williams lauren.shaftel@duke.edu 919-684-4966 Duke University Medical Center Source:Eurekalert |
Related medicine news :
1. Discoverers of Small Regulatory RNAs and Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs to Receive Lasker Awards for Medical Research
2. Study shows cholesterol-lowering power of dietitian visits
3. Cholesterol-Lowering Statins Tied to Tendon Woes
4. Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Ease Irregular Heartbeat
5. New Type of Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Shows Promise
6. Many Patients Stop Taking Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
7. Cholesterol-lowering drug linked to sleep disruptions
8. Topical treatment for cold sores achieves efficacy of oral drugs; represents paradigm shift
9. Common Heart Drugs May Hamper Blood Thinner
10. The Market for Disease-Modifying Osteoarthritis Drugs Will Experience Exponential Growth, Increasing From $477 Million in 2007 to Nearly $3.8 Billion in 2017
11. Albertsons LLC Launches $4.99 Prescription Discount Program Covering Over 500 Generic Drugs
| Copyright © 2003-2009 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |