"The finding, made almost by accident, is no reason for people to stop taking statins, which include blockbuster medications such as Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor, the researchers said."

"The increase in cancer incidence among statin users was small -- about one extra case per 1,000 people, according to the study in the July 31 issue of the "

"Patients "shouldn't be scared by these results for several reasons," said lead researcher Dr. Richard H. Karas, director of preventive cardiology at Tufts-New England Medical Center, in Boston. "First, we are looking at an association -- we can't say that it is cause-and-effect. And we can't say that statins contribute to it.""

"People with high levels of LDL cholesterol, the "bad" kind that clogs arteries, "should continue to take their statins as prescribed by their physicians," Karas said. "From a large number of studies, it is clear that statins are a very important part of reducing people's risk of heart disease.""

"The study started out as a hunt for adverse side effects, such as damage to the liver and muscles, in data culled from 23 large statin trials. Karas' team did find some liver toxicity associated with higher doses of statins. But when the resulting paper was submitted to the "

", the journal's editors asked, "What about cancer?" Karas said. "So, we went back to the drawing board.""

"The slight increase in cancer incidence was found in 13 trials that reported on cancer among the participants, Karas said. The increase was found in statin users who achieved the lowest LDL cholesterol levels and did not involve any specific type or location of cancer."

""Most studies don't get cholesterol levels low enough in the range where this issue comes up," said Dr. John C. LaRosa, professor of medicine and president at the State University Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, who wrote an accompanying journal editorial."

""You can't take this kind of data and ignore it," LaRosa said. "But we don't yet have nearly enough information to know whether this is real or a function of a longer-living population.""

"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause
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