Taking statins may cut the risk of dying from lung cancer
LUNG cancer patients who used cholestrol-busting statins for a least a year before or after their diagnosis have a lower risk of dying from the disease, researchers have found.
Statins are prescribed to lower blood cholesterol levels, which can lead to hardening of the arteries and cardiovascular diseases such as strokes, heart attacks and angina.
Among the patients who survived at least six months after diagnosis, those who used statins had an 11 per cent reduction in lung cancer-related deaths, but those who used at least 12 prescriptions over a year had a 19 per cent reduction, which is regarded as statistically significant by scientists.
Those who used statins in the year before a lung cancer diagnosis had a 12 per cent reduction in deaths.
Dr Chris Cardwell, lead researcher from the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, of the relatively small.
“However, this finding is worthy of further investigation in observational studies.
“If replicated in further observational studies, this would provide evidence in favour of conducting a randomised, controlled trial of simvastatin [a type of statin] in lung cancer patients.
“We hope to conduct a similar study in a large cohort of lung cancer patients from Northern Ireland.”
Recently there has been a surge in interest in exploring new therapeutic uses for existing drugs, due to the fact existing medications are reasonably cheap and the side-effects are already well known, according to Dr Cardwell.
But campaigners said there was not enough evidence to encourage cancer sufferers to start taking statins, and urged people to stop smoking for the best chance of avoiding lung cancer.
Dr Kat Arney, Cancer Research UK’S science communications said: “The magnitude association was manager, said: “This study shows a relatively weak link between lung cancer survival and statin use, and certainly doesn’t provide enough evidence to suggest people should start taking these drugs to treat or prevent cancer.
“Other studies looking at statins and cancer have had mixed results, and more clinical trials are needed to show whether statins are beneficial for treating or preventing any kind of cancer.
“More than eight out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking, so if you’re a smoker the best thing you can do for your health is to quit.”
The study, published yesterday in journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, used data from nearly 14,000 patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer between 1998 and 2009 from English cancer registry data, along with mortality data up to 2012 from the Office for National Statistics.
Latest figures from Scotland revealed this week that lung cancer is still the most common form of cancer in Scotland.