Taking statins ‘may protect heart from damage during breast cancer treatment’
Updated: 06/01/2021, 10:52 am
(Rui Vieira/PA)
Statins – a type of medication used to lower cholesterol – may protect women’s hearts from damage while they undergo treatment for early-stage breast cancer, a study suggests.
Chemotherapies with anthracycline, as well as the targeted cancer medicine trastuzumab, are commonly used to treat breast cancer but can be toxic to the heart.
Researchers in Canada have found that taking statins may protect against the cardiac cell damage but are yet to figure out how they work.
Husam Abdel-Qadir, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in Canada, said: “Two types of cancer medications, anthracyclines and trastuzumab, are effective treatments for many women with breast cancer.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs may protect women s hearts from damage caused during chemotherapy
Statins, common cholesterol-lowering medications, may protect women s hearts from damage caused during chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, according to new research published today in the
Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. Two types of cancer medications, anthracyclines and trastuzumab, are effective treatments for many women with breast cancer, however, the risk of heart muscle damage has limited their use, particularly in women who are at higher risk for heart problems because of their age or other medical issues, said Husam Abdel-Qadir, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and a cardiologist at Women s College Hospital and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, part of the University Health Network in
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IMAGE: Dr. Husam Abdel-Qadir, lead author of the paper and cardiologist at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and Women s College Hospital. view more
Credit: Photo: UHN
Toronto - New research from UHN s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMCC) shows statins, commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, may also protect the heart from damaging side-effects of early breast cancer treatment.
Published Jan. 6, 2021 in the
Journal of the American Heart Association, an observational study found women already taking statins and treated with either anthracyclines or trastuzumab were half as likely to be hospitalized or visit an Emergency Department for heart failure within five years after chemotherapy.
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DALLAS, Jan. 6, 2021 Statins, common cholesterol-lowering medications, may protect women s hearts from damage caused during chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, according to new research published today in the
Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association. Two types of cancer medications, anthracyclines and trastuzumab, are effective treatments for many women with breast cancer, however, the risk of heart muscle damage has limited their use, particularly in women who are at higher risk for heart problems because of their age or other medical issues, said Husam Abdel-Qadir, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and a cardiologist at Women s College Hospital and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, part of the University Health Network in Toronto.
Canadian experts analysed the health records of 2,112 women who had chemo
All were treated with the anti-cancer drugs anthracycline and trastuzumab
While commonly used against breast cancer, they can be toxic to the hearth
The team found that statins appear to reduce the risk of heart failure by 54–55%
However, they cautioned, further work will be needed to verify this link is real