Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Statins, which are drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol, may help prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clots, a condition that affects nearly two million Americans each year.
Researchers from the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia say the use of statins may be associated with a significant reduction in the occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE), a condition that includes DVT and pulmonary embolism, in patients with solid organ tumors, including breast, colon and prostate cancers.
Study author Danai Khemasuwan, M.D., and his colleagues evaluated the influence of statin use on the incidence of VTE on 740 patients admitted to the hospital between October 2004 and September 2007. The patients had been diagnosed with one or more of the following cancers: breast, lung, colon, prostate, stomach, esophagus, pancreas, ovary, kidney or brain cancer. A total of 26 percent of the patients received the statins and the overall incidence of VTE was 18 percent.
Researchers found the patients who received statins were significantly less likely to develop VTE than those who did not receive the drugs. Eight percent of patients who were given statins developed VTE compared with 21 percent in the other group.
The study's authors cautioned more studies are required but they feel that their results are promising.
"If the results of our study are confirmed in a prospective randomized, controlled trial, this could have very significant implications for the medical community," Khemasuwan was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Study presented at the 74th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians held October 25-30 in Philadelphia, Pa.
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