Jan 23, 2006

Statins And Prostate Cancer (again?)

On January 4th 2006, Janet wrote in this blog about lack of beneficial effects of popular cholesterol lowering group of drugs known as statins. You know that is not the final word and in the medical community, one research many times contradicts the findings of another research.

A new research now shows that men who've been previously diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer and are taking one of these statin drugs like Lipitor or Zocor may have beneficial effects.


The researchers say that statins improve the outcome of prostate cancer treatment with radioactive seed implants (brachytherapy - see January 6th posting to read about seed implants).

This research comes from Wheeling Hospital in West Virginia. Dr. Gregory S. Merrick from and colleagues evaluated the impact of statin therapy on disease progression and long-term survival after in 512 men who had undergone brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer.

At follow-up, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, percentage of positive biopsies, and tumor stage "were significantly lower in the statin than in the nonstatin users," the investigators report in the medical journal Urology.

Survival without recurrence of the disease at 8 years was 97 percent for patients taking statins and 94percent for patients not taking statins, the results indicate.

Higher PSA levels before treatment and being overweight were associated with lower survival rates, the researchers note.

"Since cardiovascular disease is a primary cause of death in men treated for clinically localized prostate cancer, an agent that could potentially benefit both prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease would be of great utility," Merrick commented to Reuters Health.

I would argue that this is an ongoing controversy and no clear final answer regarding the benefits of statin therapy on prostate cancer is available at this time.

Mark      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Prostate cancer
The prostate is located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum in male. The tube that carries urine runs through the prostate. The prostate contains cells that make some of the seminal fluid. This fluid protects and nourishes the sperm. Prostate cancer usually starts in the gland cells of the prostate. This kind of cancer is known as adenocarcinoma. Prostate cancer is usually a slow disease, but sometimes it can grow fast and spread quickly to other organs.