Increased risk of breast cancer related to statin use

This study was published in Anticancer Research 2009 Dec;29(12):5143-8

Study title and authors:

Statins and breast cancer in postmenopausal women without hormone therapy.

Eaton M, Eklof J, Beal JR, Sahmoun AE.

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, ND, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20044629

This study investigated the association between statin use and risk of breast cancer among overweight or obese postmenopausal women who have never used hormone therapy. The study included 95 women with breast cancer and 94 controls. The women were aged from 55 to 81 years old and had a body mass index over 25.0 kg/m2.

The study found:
(a) Women who used statins had a 30% increased risk of breast cancer compared to women not using statins.
(b) Women who used lovastatin, simvastatin, fluvastatin, or atorvastatin type statins had a 310% increased risk of breast cancer.

This study found an increased risk of breast cancer related to statin use in overweight postmenopausal women.

Links to other studies:
Young women who are treated with statins may be at increased risk for the development of breast cancer
Statins may promote cancer in certain segments of the population