Statins may offer protection

An article in today's Independent Record (Helena, MT) mentions something that I have not read before: A drug taken for lowering serum cholesterol can apparently protect you from melanoma. It is hardly a replacement for good common sense preventions though like sun block and clothing.


See excerpts below:

...it is the most common cause of cancer in women ages 25 through 29 and second only to lung cancer in women 30 through 34.

But most serious cases of melanoma and most melanoma deaths can be prevented. All it takes is regular body vigilance and, most important, a great respect for the damage that can be caused by spending too much time in the sun without adequate protection. There is also emerging evidence that statins, the drugs taken by millions to lower serum cholesterol, can protect against sun-induced melanomas.

Last year in ''The Melanoma Letter'' published by the Skin Cancer Foundation, Dr. Marie-France Demierre of Boston University School of Medicine described the growing evidence for statins as a protector against melanoma.

These cholesterol-lowering agents interfere with the action of two oncogenes, mutations in Ras and Rho proteins, that play a role in the development of melanomas. Laboratory studies also suggest that statins may promote programmed cell death and thus may be useful as therapy for melanoma patients.

But the wise person who ventures outdoors would not rely on such chemoprotection at this point. Sensible behavior in the sun provides the best protection, and only you can apply it.

There is a lot of information in the article and I can't excerpt the whole thing so if you read this much then I encourage you to read the entire story.