Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Could Double Your Risk of Breast Cancer

A new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention reveals that women who consume cholesterol-lowering drugs for more than 10 years have experienced an 83 to143% increased risk of breast cancer.

This relationship between drug use and breast cancer does not necessarily imply causation. However, since these drugs affect the functions of cholesterol, vitamin D and sex hormone regulation in the body, women taking these drugs are significantly more likely to suffer cancers driven by the hormone estrogen.  In addition, low levels of Vitamin D have been also implicated with a higher incidence of breast cancer. 

Cholesterol-lowering drugs have long been suspect in increasing the risk of certain cancers including colorectal, prostate and kidney. Low cholesterol levels have been found to increase the risk of cancer at all sites. This indicates that cholesterol-lowering drugs could actually cause cancer.

These drugs are known to reduce the body’s level of Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ10), a compound central in the process of energy production on the cellular level, and which also eliminates dangerous compounds called free radicals. This critical side effect can cause devastating results, ranging from muscle pain to congestive heart failure. If you take cholesterol-lowering drugs without taking CoQ10, your health may be at serious risk. For preventive use, it is suggested to take 100 - 200 mg of CoQ10 per day.

It has long been established that the effects of cancer causing agents, such as asbestos and tobacco, may take many years to develop - even after the exposure has ended. In that regard, the currentwave of non-melanoma skin cancers has been linked to the widespread use of cholesterol-lowering drugs. In the CARE (Cholesterol And Recurrent Events) trial, 12 of 286 women taking pravastatin developed breast cancer, compared to only 1 of 290 in the placebo group. A significant study of 23 large trials similarly concluded that the magnitude of declining LDL (low density lipoproteins, the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol) was directly correlated with an increased risk of cancer. As well, numerous studies of healthy people have shown that low cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of cancer, even if determined 10 - 30 years previously.

Since it may take many years for a cancer-causing effect to surface, a relationship might not be recognized - especially if cholesterol-lowering drug use has long since been discontinued. Nevertheless, after the CARE study demonstrated an increase in recurrent breast cancer with the use of the drug pravastatin, patients with a history of any malignancy have since been excluded from taking part in all trials. Since drug makers have so far offered no real explanation for this exclusion, perhaps they already know something that the rest of us are only suspecting. 

In spite of this overwhelming evidence, 1 in 4 North Americans over the age of 45 are taking these drugs.  Cholesterol-lowering drugs are amongst the biggest-selling drugs in the world, bringing billions in revenue for pharmaceutical companies. In 2011 total sales of these drugs were $35 billion, while billions more are spent each year on marketing to convince us that we need more and more drugs to remain healthy. The medical profession, its organizations, the media and the public at large have swallowed this cholesterol-lowering drug propaganda hook, line and sinker.

A more prudent and definitely less expensive approach that we should be advocating for is natural dietary and nutritional intervention to become the primary method of reducing blood cholesterol to normal levels. The biochemical overriding of our bodies does have a place in emergency situations and for some extreme medical conditions. However, a long-term and sustainable approach to disease treatment and prevention can only come from proper nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and a holistic approach to medicine that aids the body’s innate ability to heal and preserve health.