Statins are typically used as a cholesterol-lowering drug, but in a recent cancer study, statins have been observed to be effective against inhibiting breast cancer cell growth.
In this study, Dr. Carol Prives, chair of the department of biological sciences at Columbia University, and his team treated mutant p53 cells with statins in the laboratory. As a result, the cells stopped uncontrolled growth and in some cases, the cells died.
This is significant because it is known that some women, who have breast cancer, have a mutation in their p53 tumor suppressor gene. This gene is responsible for preventing uncontrolled growth of cancer cells. So if statins are effective inhibit the proliferation of cells with the p53 mutation, then in women with breast cancer, a similar effect may be observed.
More laboratory research is needed before statins will be used for treatment against breast cancer.
