Statins: They do increase prostate cancer risk if you’re overweight

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs increase the risk of prostate cancer in overweight men, a new study has discovered.

They are 1.5 times more likely to develop the cancer than men who have a normal weight – and the risk rises the longer the person takes the drug.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle made the discovery while they were researching the overall cancer risk with statin usage. Although it’s been feared that statins increase prostate cancer risk, the researchers were unable to find any evidence to support the fear, other than in obese men.

(Source: American Journal of Epidemiology, 2008; 168: 250-60).

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