Cancer Decisions - Free Newsletter -October 14, 2007

HERE AT THE MOSS REPORTS

During my long career in the field of cancer I have seen many theories arrive in a blaze of glory only to be discredited and quietly discarded a short time later. By going to primary sources and carefully studying the scientific literature I aim to provide my readers with the best possible synopsis of the current state of knowledge in the sphere of cancer prevention and treatment. My goal is to maintain the sort of consistent, reliably objective analytical standard that will allow my readers to make truly informed decisions.

Empowering cancer patients and their families is the motivating philosophy behind everything we do here at the Moss Reports. People facing a diagnosis of cancer typically must make a series of crucial treatment decisions in very short order. It can be extremely hard to choose wisely at a time when one is under such intense pressure.

The widely praised Moss Reports are an invaluable source of information on currently available conventional and alternative treatments. There are now well over 200 individual Moss Reports, each one focusing on a different type of cancer. These reports can be ordered and downloaded directly from our Web site, www.cancerdecisions.com. You can also order by phone. Simply call 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US).

For those who have already purchased a Moss Report on their specific cancer diagnosis, I also offer phone consultations. These consultations can be enormously helpful in narrowing down the options and arriving at a coherent treatment strategy. A recent phone consultation client commented:

"As a physician with both a personal and professional interest in cancer, I'm exposed to many experts in the field. Dr. Moss however, stands out among all of them as a truly open-minded scientist with an encyclopedic knowledge of the latest and most relevant research. In addition, he's extremely personable and patient. It was truly a worthwhile experience to have this consult. I would recommend it highly to anyone who suffers from cancer, or who has a friend or relative with this diagnosis. I'd also recommend it without reservation to any open-minded professional who wishes to expand his or her knowledge." - R M L, MD

If you are a Moss Report client and would like to schedule a phone consultation, you can do so by calling 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US), or by sending an email to our coordinator, Jacquie Johnson at: Jacquie@cancerdecisions.com.

We look forward to helping you.

CURRENT TOPICS

Also available from our website are our Current Topics reports - a series of in-depth reviews of cancer-related subjects and controversies. Currently available are the following:

On Guard - Gardasil (A discussion of the anti-cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil)
Do Antioxidants and Chemotherapy Conflict?
Mammography, Biopsy and the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
Herceptin or Deceptin? (An evaluation of the use of Herceptin in breast cancer)
Avastin: Your Money Or Your Life. (A clear-eyed look at the targeted drug Avastin)
The Politics of Hope: Andrew von Eschenbach and the Decline of the National Cancer Institute
The Mexican Cancer Clinics in the Era of Evidence-Based Medicine

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DO STATINS INCREASE CANCER RISK?

Few drugs are more widely known and prescribed than the statins, which are designed to lower elevated blood cholesterol. These drugs are indisputably effective in reducing low-density cholesterol, or LDL - the so-called "bad" cholesterol - that has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack, ischemic stroke and peripheral artery disease.

So prevalent has the use of these drugs become that, in 2005, 144.5 million statin prescriptions were written in the US alone, representing sales in excess of $16 billion. Just one such drug, Lipitor (atorvastatin), made by Pfizer, not only represents 44 percent of all US statin prescriptions, but is the number one selling drug in the world.

Since the first statin, Mevacor, was introduced in 1987, data on the safety and effectiveness of these drugs have accumulated. There are presently 17,000 articles on statins in the peer-reviewed literature.

Statins can have some well-documented adverse effects, notably muscle pain, weakness and fatigue, elevation of liver enzymes, and occasionally headache and nausea. For the people most likely to benefit from statins, however, the potential side effects need to be weighed against the cardiovascular protection that these drugs are known to provide.

The medical consensus is that statins are generally safe and effective. They almost certainly will lower your LDL, and relatively few people are affected by adverse effects such as muscle damage (which may be prevented by taking conezmye Q10 supplements). On balance, the benefits seem to outweigh the risks.

But until recently the risk-vs-benefit equation has not factored in the question of cancer. Does the use of statins to lower LDL increase, decrease or leave unaffected one's risk of particular cancers, or cancer in general? The evidence here is maddeningly contradictory. On the one hand, a number of studies from good research centers have concluded (a) that there is no evidence of any association between statins and an increased risk of cancer; and (b) that, in fact, statins may actually reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. On the other hand, there have been several studies - from equally reputable institutions - suggesting exactly the opposite - i.e., that statin use may indeed be associated with an increased risk of cancer. Settling this uncertainty is obviously an important public health issue given the vast numbers of people taking these drugs.

So, what is the current state of the evidence concerning statins and cancer risk?

First of all, to clarify, there are many different statins. Here are the most popular brands:

Simvastatin = Zocor
Lovastatin = Mevacor
Fluvastatin = Lescol

Pravastatin = Pravachol
Atorvastatin = Lipitor
Rosuvastatin = Crestor

The first three are classified as hydrophobic drugs, the second three as hydrophilic. As we shall see, these distinctions are important in relation to cancer risk.

The following selected examples illustrate the current contradictory evidence on this subject:

A 2004 study in the Lancet reported on participants in the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S). This trial investigated cause-specific mortality as well as cancer incidence five years after formal closure of the trial. No difference in cancer incidence or mortality was found between the group of patients taking statins and the group taking placebo (Strandberg 2004).
A group of Spanish researchers from the University of Barcelona reported that their case-control study of 2,362 patients had uncovered evidence of an important protective effect of statins against lymphoma (Fortuny 2007).
An analysis of data from the large-scale Women's Health Initiative showed that while hydrophilic statins such as Pravachol, Lipitor and Crestor did not confer any reduction in breast cancer risk, the hydrophobic statins such as Zocor, Mevacor and Lescol were associated with an 18 percent reduction in the relative risk of breast cancer.
Boston University epidemiologists reviewed the relationship between statin use and the risk of 10 different major cancers. Again, the results were inconclusive. "The present data do not support either positive or negative associations between statin use and the occurrence of 10 cancer types," the authors wrote (Coogan 2007).
The same team of epidemiologists analyzed data on statin use for 1,809 colon cancer patients and matched controls. Writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the epidemiologists concluded that there did not appear to be any association between statin use and the risk of colon cancer (Coogan, Smith 2007).

All of this would argue that statins do not increase the risk of cancer and may, in select instances, decrease that risk. However, as we shall see next week, the picture is not consistently bright, and some cardiologists are themselves warning that aggressive statin use might indeed be associated with increased incidence of cancer.

TO BE CONCLUDED, WITH REFERENCE, NEXT WEEK.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.