Cholesterol-lowering pills used by millions of adults may slash the risk of developing a common type of blood cancer, research today suggested.
Statins are Britain’s most prescribed medicines, with more than 70 million packs dispensed annually.
Now, scientists in the United Arab Emirates, who tracked more than 1,000 patients with the disease, found those taking the drug were almost two thirds less likely to die from their cancer than those who weren’t.
Experts, labelled the findings ‘very promising’ but cautioned they do not yet prove that statins can ‘directly improve cancer outcomes’.
It follows previous research that has suggested taking the medicines may lower the risk of developing up to 20 other types of cancer, including breast, liver, stomach and even bowel.
Dr Ahmad Abuhelwa, an assistant professor of pharmacotherapeutics at the University of Sharjah, said: ‘Our results highlight a strong link between statin use and improved survival.
‘These findings don’t allow us to say for certain that statins directly improve cancer outcomes.
‘However, the fact that this association remained strong even after accounting for multiple factors makes it an important area for future research.’
Statins are Britain’s most prescribed medicines, with more than 70 million packs dispensed annually
In the study, researchers assessed statin use on patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
Often referred to as the same cancer, both cause white blood cells to develop abnormally, breaking down the body’s ability to fight infection.
CLL and SLL are rarely cured completely. Instead, patients live with the cancer, undergoing treatment to control it for as long as possible.
Because the disease develops slowly, doctors have to wait until there is enough cancer in the blood to warrant aggressive treatment.
While patients can be declared cancer-free after chemo, the disease can return, requiring further rounds.
Roughly 80 per cent of patients survive five years or more with the disease.
But according to Lymphoma Action, around 4,500 people are diagnosed with CLL or SLL every year in the UK — more than 12 people each day.
It affects nearly twice as many men as women.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, known as CLL, affects white blood cells, breaking down the body’s ability to fight infection and is rarely cured completely (file photo)
In the study, the scientists tracked 1,467 patients with CLL or SLL, who were aged 65 on average.
Patients were randomly assigned newer cancer therapy drug ibrutinib, either alone or in combination with other anti-cancer drugs.
A third group was put on a drug regimen that did not include ibrutinib.
Around a third of patients were taking a statin at the time they started treatment.
Over a follow-up of roughly five years the researchers found those on statins had a 61 per cent lower risk of dying from their cancer compared to those who were not.
Writing in the journal Blood Advances, they also found patients on the drug had a 38 per cent reduced risk of death from any cause and a 26 per cent reduced risk of disease progression.
The scientists, however, acknowledged the study was merely observational and could not prove why statins may reduce the risk.
The paper also had some ‘limitations’, they said, including the fact patients use statins at different doses.
‘The study could not determine the effects of specific statin types, doses, or duration of use on patients’ survival,’ they added.
Dr Abuhelwa also said: ‘While our results are very promising, we can’t recommend starting statins for CLL or SLL treatment based on this study alone.
‘Future clinical trials are needed to determine definitively whether statins have a direct benefit on cancer survival.’
Since the drugs first won approval in 1987, global sales of statins have exceeded £765 billion.
The drugs were designed to protect people at high risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Here, they work by limiting the production of ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which can harden or narrow arteries.
They were developed originally for the secondary prevention of heart attacks or strokes — that is, reducing the risk of future events in patients who have already suffered one.
Now they are increasingly used for primary prevention — in people who haven’t had a heart attack or stroke, but are deemed to be at risk.
