Boston-based Mass General Cancer Center researchers found that statins may help prevent the development of two cancers that result from chronic inflammation.
The study, published May 30 in Nature Communications, used the common cholesterol-lowering drugs on cell lines, mice and human tissue samples. They found that exposure to environmental toxins, such as allergens and chemical irritants, activates two pathways, which results in the production of a protein that causes inflammation in the skin and pancreas. That inflammation could contribute to the development of cancer. However, a statin suppressed the protein creation and prevented the development of inflammation-related pancreatic cancers in mice.
Researchers also found that this protein was overexpressed in human pancreas tissue samples from patients with chronic inflammation and pancreatic cancer.
Statins could be "a safe and effective preventive strategy to suppress chronic inflammation and the subsequent development of certain cancers," according to a hospital news release. The researchers said they intend to do further research on the relationship between statins and cancer.