Blood from a stone
Last month, I told you about statins' most recent ego-boost (2/26/09 eTip, subject line "Better late than never?"). Even though the "experts" want more people than ever on statins to lower their heart risk, Big Pharma won't rest until they've squeezed every drop of blood from this particular stone…But it looks like this is one stone that may just have been squeezed dry. For awhile, researchers have been theorizing that statins may help prevent breast cancer. To date, though, results have been mixed. But according to a new study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Chemoprevention Center at the University of Alabama, there is a definitive answer to this question…just not the one the pharmaceutical industry was hoping to hear. The researchers used mice to test two different statins -- atorvastatin and lovastatin -- to see if they had any impact on the development of breast cancer. According to one of the NCI researchers, "We saw no real efficacy from either statin." Yet, for some reason, they're determined to keep trying, in the hopes that they'll find some obscure form of the disease that statins WILL prevent. Sounds like wishful thinking if you ask me. I think we're all better off sticking with the reality of the situation, which the study authors summed up nicely: "Studies do not support the use of statins as general breast cancer preventive agents." The good news, though, is that there ARE ways to prevent breast cancer – without statins (or any other drugs, for that matter). In fact, in his new report 14 Secrets to Living Cancer-Free, Dr. Wright outlines specific strategies that can help you avoid this dreaded disease. To read more about the report, click here. Source:
"Statin therapy ineffective in breast cancer prevention, animal study suggests," Science Daily (www.sciecedaily.com), 2/9/09 | 
