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Cancer Risk of Statins

People who have low LDL cholesterol levels are at an increased risk of developing cancer compared to people with normal LDL cholesterol levels. However, the use of statin drugs to lower LDL cholesterol does not appear to increase cancer risk.

  1. Theories/Speculation

    • Epidemiological studies, as well as a study published in the "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" in 2007, suggest that low LDL cholesterol levels increase the risk of cancer. As a result, researchers speculated that statin drugs, which lower LDL cholesterol levels, might also increase cancer risk.

    Research

    • A second paper published in 2008 in the "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" compared cancer rates in people who were taking statins to cancer rates in people who had similar LDL cholesterol levels but were not taking statins. Their findings suggest that cancer risk does not change once people start taking statins, even if their LDL cholesterol levels decrease. In other words, statins do not appear to increase cancer risk, despite the fact that they lower LDL cholesterol.

    Considerations

    • Since statins do not increase cancer risk despite lowering LDL cholesterol, they may actually exert a protective effect.

    Unknowns

    • Scientists do not yet understand why lower LDL cholesterol levels increase cancer risk. They also do not understand why statin drugs might influence cancer risk.

    Future Directions

    • Scientists are also starting to investigate whether HDL Cholesterol, or "good" cholesterol, affects cancer risk.

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