Some women who take statins worry about the possibly that these drugs, which are often taken for many years, may increase their risk of breast cancer.
Analyses of previous studies have given mixed results on the relationship between statin use and breast cancer, with some studies showing a higher risk of breast cancer in women taking statins. But in a much larger study involving nearly 12,000 women taking statins that was part of the Women's Health Initiative, statin use was not associated with in increased risk of breast cancer during an average follow-up of 6.7 years.
There was even a statistically significant decrease, averaging 18 percent in the incidence of breast cancer in women taking three of the statins-fluvastatin, lovastatin, and simvastatin. The investigators were convinced that statins did not raise the risk of breast cancer but felt less certain that these statins reduced the risk of breast cancer.
No increase in the incidence of other cancers was detected in the more than 30,000 clinical trial subjects who took various statins for about 5 years to determine whether statins are effective in preventing cardiovascular events.
