Statins increase the risk of death by 21% in women with breast cancer

This study was published in PLoS One 2013 Sep 25;8(9):e75088

 

Study title and authors:

Mortality and Recurrence Risk in Relation to the Use of Lipid-Lowering Drugs in a Prospective Breast Cancer Patient Cohort.

Nickels S, Vrieling A, Seibold P, Heinz J, Obi N, Flesch-Janys D, Chang-Claude J.

Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24086446

This study investigated the effects of cholesterol lowering drugs (the vast majority (85%) were taking statins) on women diagnosed with breast cancer. The study included 3,189 women, aged 50 and older, who were followed for 5.3 years.

The study found:
(a) Women taking statins had a 21% increased risk of death compared to women not taking statins.
(b) Women taking statins had a 4% increased risk of death from breast cancer compared to women not taking statins.
(c) Women taking statins had a 49% increased risk of death from causes other than breast cancer compared to women not taking statins.