Drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol could one day help treat prostate cancer, new research suggests.
A clinical trial of 12 patients, conducted at the Beatson West Cancer Research Center in Glasgow, Scotland, found that statins slowed tumor growth when given in conjunction with androgen deprivation therapy, which lowers levels of male hormones.
Hing Leung, who led the research, noted that the study was the first of its kind to show such an effect of statins.
Leung added: “We think they could prevent prostate cancer from producing androgens (sex hormones) from cholesterol, cutting off a pathway for the disease to resist androgen deprivation therapy. Castration-resistant prostate cancer, when it becomes resistant to hormone therapy, is very difficult to treat. If further trials are successful, we could use these drugs to offer patients better treatment options.”
Prostate cancer requires androgens, like testosterone, to grow. Existing treatments reduce the levels of these hormones in an attempt to stop the disease. However, in some cases it can become “castration resistant”, which means that it stops responding to these treatments.
For a period of six to eight weeks, the researchers gave atorvastatin to 12 patients whose cancer had become resistant to that therapy.
The team then measured levels of prostate-specific antigen, which is used to estimate tumor growth, and found that 11 of the 12 saw those levels drop while taking atorvastatin.
The researchers hope to launch a larger study to determine whether statins could be used more widely to treat prostate cancer.
Hayley Luxton, UK Prostate Cancer Senior Research Impact Manager, said: “We are pleased to have funded this study, which shows encouraging early signs that statins could help slow the growth of prostate cancer. Further analysis is needed to understand the best time to add statins to treatment and to test this approach in a much larger group of men.”
The findings have been welcomed by John Culling, 64, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2019.
The newspaper The Independent picked up the story of Culling, who lives in Broughty Ferry, near Dundee, with his wife, Margaret. He underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal treatment, which he was successful, and is now under observation.
Father of two children, he said: “The aggressiveness of the cancer that I have implies a high probability that it can return, so we have to wait and watch.”
A former army captain, Culling is hopeful that the study will be further developed to help treat the disease more effectively in the future.
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