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By Lindsay Braun, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Could low cholesterol levels mean a higher risk of cancer? A new study reveals there is a small chance. However, other experts say it's nothing to worry about.
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Previous scientific studies have suggested lowering LDL levels is an important part of preventing heart disease. Millions of people with high cholesterol take statins -- a medication that lowers LDL levels.
Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston Massachusetts started researching statins to find out why they sometimes produced detrimental side effects to liver and muscle cells. No links were found between statins and liver or muscle irritation -- but an unexpected link did arise.
The team found for every 1,000 patients with low LDL levels there was one additional incidence of cancer, compared to patients with higher LDL levels. The cancers that developed were not isolated to any particular region of the body. It's still unknown whether the statins were responsible for the increased incidence, or if it was the low LDL levels that made the patients more prone to developing cancer.
Richard Karas, M.D., the study's lead author was quoted saying, "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."
Dr. Dove told Ivanhoe, "If there is concern the patient and the physician need to evaluate the need for the statin drug case by case. If somebody doesn't have a good indication to be on a stain to begin with, you may want to think about the cancer risk in that case. I wouldn't stop it solely because of the risk." Dr. Dove was not involved in the study.
"Don't panic at this point if you're on a statin. It's not proven that it will cause cancer, it's just a signal, and we need to see where to go from here," Dr. Dove said.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Interview with James Dove, M.D., F.A.C.C.; Journal of the American College of Cardiology, published online July 24, 2007
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