Cholesterol Drugs Might Boost Kidney Cancer Survival

Study finds statin medications tied to lower death risk after nearly 4 years of follow-up

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs that are taken by millions of Americans might also improve survival from a type of kidney cancer called renal cell carcinoma, a new study suggests.

Statins -- drugs such as Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor -- have anti-inflammatory and cell self-destruction properties, and previous research has shown that these drugs may lower the risk of developing some types of cancer. The new research, presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego, suggests that the drugs might fight kidney cancer.

"Given that one in four Americans over 45 years of age take a statin and renal cell carcinoma occurs most often in men ages 50 to 70, it may be prudent to prospectively evaluate if statins protect against [cancer] progression," study author Dr. Scott Eggener, an associate professor of urologic oncology at the University of Chicago, said in a meeting press release.

One expert not connected to the study wasn't surprised by the findings.

"The use of statins has shown promise in previous studies with reducing overall cancer-related mortality," said Dr. Michael Palese, an associate professor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. He added that certain characteristics of renal cell carcinomas might render statins "beneficial" for patients.

In the study, Eggener's team reviewed data from more than 900 patients who had surgery for renal cell carcinoma between 1995 and 2010. After an average follow-up period approaching four years, statin use was associated with a reduced risk of cancer progression, the team reported.

Over three years, 10 percent of the patients who took statins died of their cancer, compared with 17 percent of those who did not take this type of drug.

After accounting for other factors, the researchers concluded that statin use was independently associated with both improved overall survival and disease-specific survival.

Another expert said the finding echoes those seen in other studies involving cancer patients.

"Last year in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Danish researchers studied 13 different cancers and found that in all types, the use of statins was associated with longer cancer specific survival," said Dr. Manish Vira, director of the fellowship program in urologic oncology at North Shore-LIJ's Arthur Smith Institute for Urology in Lake Success, N.Y.

But he stressed that the data so far come from observational trials, which can prove an association but not a cause-and-effect relationship between statin use and improved survival.

"Given the current data and known cardiovascular protective effects of statins, certainly it seems prudent to design clinical trials to study the potential of statin therapy in breast, colon, prostate and now kidney cancer treatment," Vira said.

Studies presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Cholesterol Drugs Might Boost Kidney Cancer Survival

TUESDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) -- Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs that are taken by millions of Americans might also improve survival from a type of kidney cancer called renal cell carcinoma, a new study suggests.

Statins -- drugs such as Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor -- have anti-inflammatory and cell self-destruction properties, and previous research has shown that these drugs may lower the risk of developing some types of cancer. The new research, presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in San Diego, suggests that the drugs might fight kidney cancer.

"Given that one in four Americans over 45 years of age take a statin and renal cell carcinoma occurs most often in men ages 50 to 70, it may be prudent to prospectively evaluate if statins protect against [cancer] progression," study author Dr. Scott Eggener, an associate professor of urologic oncology at the University of Chicago, said in a meeting press release.

One expert not connected to the study wasn't surprised by the findings.

"The use of statins has shown promise in previous studies with reducing overall cancer-related mortality," said Dr. Michael Palese, an associate professor of urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. He added that certain characteristics of renal cell carcinomas might render statins "beneficial" for patients.

In the study, Eggener's team reviewed data from more than 900 patients who had surgery for renal cell carcinoma between 1995 and 2010. After an average follow-up period approaching four years, statin use was associated with a reduced risk of cancer progression, the team reported.

Over three years, 10 percent of the patients who took statins died of their cancer, compared with 17 percent of those who did not take this type of drug.

After accounting for other factors, the researchers concluded that statin use was independently associated with both improved overall survival and disease-specific survival.

Another expert said the finding echoes those seen in other studies involving cancer patients.

"Last year in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Danish researchers studied 13 different cancers and found that in all types, the use of statins was associated with longer cancer specific survival," said Dr. Manish Vira, director of the fellowship program in urologic oncology at North Shore-LIJ's Arthur Smith Institute for Urology in Lake Success, N.Y.

But he stressed that the data so far come from observational trials, which can prove an association but not a cause-and-effect relationship between statin use and improved survival.

"Given the current data and known cardiovascular protective effects of statins, certainly it seems prudent to design clinical trials to study the potential of statin therapy in breast, colon, prostate and now kidney cancer treatment," Vira said.

Studies presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Michael Palese, M.D., associate professor, urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City; Manish A. Vira, M.D, director, fellowship program in urologic oncology, North Shore-LIJ Arthur Smith Institute for Urology, Lake Success, N.Y.; American Urological Association, news release, May 7, 2013

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Scientists Create Breast Cancer Survival Predictor

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Tweaking Dietary Fat Mix Might Boost Prostate Cancer Survival

Men who subbed vegetable oils, avocados, nuts for animal fats fared better in study

By Denise Mann

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Men with prostate cancer may boost their survival chances if they replace animal fats and carbohydrates in their diet with healthy fats such as olive oils, nuts and avocados, new research suggests.

Men who substituted 10 percent of their daily calories from animal fats and carbs with such healthy fats as olive oil, canola oil, nuts, seeds and avocados were 29 percent less likely to die from spreading prostate cancer and 26 percent less likely to die from any other disease when compared to men who did not make this healthy swap, the study found.

And a little bit seems to go a long way. Specifically, adding just one daily tablespoon of an oil-based salad dressing resulted in a 29 percent lower risk of dying from prostate cancer and a 13 percent lower risk of dying from any other cause, the study contended.

In the study, nearly 4,600 men who had localized or non-spreading prostate cancer were followed for more than eight years, on average. During the study, 1,064 men died. Of these, 31 percent died from heart disease, slightly more than 21 percent died as a result of prostate cancer and slightly less than 21 percent died as a result of another type of cancer.

The findings appeared online June 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study can't say for sure that including healthy fats in the diet was responsible for the survival edge seen among men. "The main take-home message is that consuming healthy fats and nuts may have a protective role," said study author Erin Richman, a postdoctoral scholar in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

In 2013, there will be nearly 239,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 30,000 men will die from the disease, according to estimates from the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

"The next step is to plan a randomized controlled trial of these healthier fats and see whether and how they affect the prostate," Richman said. "The novel finding in this study seems to be a benefit on prostate cancer survival." She noted that there is already a large body of evidence suggesting that healthy fats help reduce heart disease risks.

An editorial by Dr. Stephen Freedland of Duke University Medical Center accompanied the new study.

"We can say for sure that being obese increases the risk of dying of prostate cancer," Freedland said. "The new study gives us some more clues. It suggests that cutting out saturated fats and carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats can also lower the risk of dying from prostate cancer."

Another expert praised the new study while noting that the findings aren't conclusive.

"This study is well-designed and offers some evidence that a diet higher in vegetable fat and lower in carbohydrates might reduce risk of premature death from prostate cancer in men with prostate cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body," said Eric Jacobs, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society. "While these results are exciting, there have been few other studies in this area and more are needed before conclusions can be made about the effect of vegetable fat or other dietary factors on prostate cancer progression."

Moreover, Jacobs said, "there is stronger evidence that smoking and obesity increase risk of prostate cancer recurrence and death from prostate cancer, giving prostate cancer survivors one more reason to avoid smoking and maintain a healthy weight."

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When Breast Cancer Spreads to Lungs, Surgery May Increase Survival

Title: When Breast Cancer Spreads to Lungs, Surgery May Increase Survival
Category: Health News
Created: 4/1/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/1/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Abdominal 'Chemo Bath' May Extend Survival in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Long-term study found women who received 'intraperitoneal' treatment lived about a year longer

By Denise Mann

HealthDay Reporter

SATURDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Women with advanced ovarian cancer who receive intense chemotherapy directly into their stomach area may live at least one year longer than women who receive standard intravenous chemotherapy, a new study says.

But this survival edge may come at the expense of more side effects.

"The long-term benefits are pretty significant," said study author Dr. Devansu Tewari, director of gynecologic oncology at the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, in Orange County. "There is no study of ovarian cancer treatments that has shown a greater survival advantage."

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy involves bathing the abdominal area with chemotherapy agents. By contrast, intravenous (IV) chemotherapy is delivered throughout the body via the bloodstream. The U.S. National Cancer Institute currently recommends intraperitoneal therapy for women with ovarian cancer who have had successful surgery to remove the tumor.

The 10-year follow-up data from two studies of nearly 900 women with advanced ovarian cancer will be presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, in Los Angeles.

In 2013, more than 22,000 American women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and more than 14,000 will die from the disease, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. There are no early screening tests for ovarian cancer, which is why it is often diagnosed when the cancer has already spread outside of the ovaries. For this reason, survival rates tend to be very low.

In the new study, women who received the intraperitoneal treatment were 17 percent more likely to survive longer than those who got IV chemotherapy. On average, women in the intraperitoneal group survived for more than five years, while those who received IV chemotherapy survived for about four years, the study found.

But survival benefits aside, intraperitoneal chemotherapy does confer a greater risk of side effects -- such as abdominal pain and numbness in the hands and feet -- and not all women can tolerate this high concentration of cancer-killing drugs. The drugs are also absorbed more slowly, providing more exposure to the medicine. The same properties that make the intraperitoneal therapy more effective likely play a role in causing more side effects, the researchers said.

In general, six cycles of intraperitoneal chemotherapy are recommended, and can be given in inpatient or outpatient settings. The more cycles the women completed, the greater their survival advantage, the study showed. After five years, close to 60 percent of women who completed five or six cycles of intraperitoneal therapy were still alive, compared with 33 percent of those who completed three or four cycles and 18 percent of those who completed one or two cycles. Women can switch back to IV chemotherapy if the side effects prove too harsh. Still, the researchers said, some intraperitoneal chemotherapy is better than none.

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Blood Thinners May Boost Survival for Prostate Cancer Patients: Study

Title: Blood Thinners May Boost Survival for Prostate Cancer Patients: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 2/21/2013 2:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/22/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Longer Tamoxifen Use Helps Breast Cancer Survival

ByBrenda Goodman, MA
WebMD Health News Reviewed byLouise Chang, MD

Dec. 5, 2012 -- Doubling the time that breast cancer patients take tamoxifen cuts the risk that the cancer will come back and further lowers the risk of dying of the disease, a new study shows.

The study is expected to change the way doctors prescribe tamoxifen, a drug that blocks the effects of estrogen on breast cells. About 80% of all breast cancers are sensitive to the hormone estrogen for growth.

The research also hints that longer courses of other kinds of hormone-reducing medications may also work better than shorter courses after breast cancer surgery, though trials testing that theory are ongoing.

“I think the result of this trial will have a major immediate impact on premenopausal women,” says Peter Ravdin, MD, PhD. Ravdin is the director of the Breast Health Clinic at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center, in San Antonio.

Newer kinds of estrogen-reducing drugs, called aromatase inhibitors, have largely replaced tamoxifen as the preferred therapy for postmenopausal women with estrogen-sensitive cancers. This study won’t change that.

But those kinds of drugs don’t work for women before menopause. For them, doctors still recommend taking tamoxifen.

Current guidelines recommend that women stop tamoxifen after five years because the drug increases the risk of uterine cancers and dangerous blood clots.

The new study found small increases in cases of uterine cancer in women who took the drug for an additional five years. Those women also had slightly higher risks of developing a blood clot in their lungs. But those additional risks did not appear to outweigh the survival benefits of staying on the drug.

“I think that for women who are now approaching five years of therapy, where we’d usually be telling them -- up to this point -- that we’re going to be stopping the tamoxifen, now we’re going to be telling them that there is clinical evidence that 10 years is superior to five years, and I’m going to be comfortable doing that,” says Ravdin, who led a news briefing on the study but was not involved in the research.

The study was published in the Lancet and presented to doctors at the 2012 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

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