Washington, July 24 (ANI): A new study has found that low levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in people taking statins may increase cancer risk.
The statins (or HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) form a class of hypolipidemic agents, used as pharmaceutical agents to lower cholesterol levels in people with or at risk for cardiovascular disease.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Richard H. Karas at Tufts University School of Medicine.
As part of the study, to understand how statins cause side-effects, particularly damage to the liver and muscle cells, researchers analyzed 23 statin treatment arms that included 75,317 patients with a combined 309,506 years of follow up.
Researchers found that liver toxicity levels increased with higher statin dosage, however a link between LDL lowering and liver or muscle irritation was not found.
The researchers also found increased cancer risk (one additional incident per 1,000 patients) from low LDL levels, however it was not sure whether the risk was a side effect of statins or just low LDL.
The study findings supported taking multiple medications rather than high-dose statins to minimize the side effects of statins.
“This analysis doesn’t implicate the statin in increasing the risk of cancer. The demonstrated benefits of statins in lowering the risk of heart disease remain clear; however, certain aspects of lowering LDL with statins remain controversial and merit further research,” Karas said.
The findings of the study were published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). (ANI)