In the largest study of its type, the University of Oxford (UK) and the University of Sydney (Australia) have demonstrated that statin therapy is not a cause of increased cancer rates and deaths.
The conclusions of this study will reassure the millions of people worldwide who are taking statins to lower cholesterol levels, and clarifies earlier research that had raised concerns of a causal link. The Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration examined data from 170,000 people captured from 26 randomised and controlled trials. Of these people, over 10,000 of them developed cancer and over 3,500 died from cancer. Analysis determined that cancer rates and deaths were exactly the same in people taking statin therapy as those being given a placebo tablet. The study also demonstrated that when comparing a high statin dose with a standard dose, cancer risk was not increased. Even among people with already low cholesterol levels, further reducing these levels with more potent statin regimens did not increase their risk of cancer. The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), and involved collaborators from all over the world.
