Experiments show how cholesterol helps tumors progress, and how ‘statin’ drugs may inhibit them. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have demonstrated that high blood cholesterol levels accelerate the growth of prostate tumors, showing that cholesterol helps prostate tumors survive and grow at the molecular level by altering chemical signaling patterns within tumor cells. The findings, published in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (available online March 17), are in keeping with population studies that have linked prostate cancer with high cholesterol levels and Western diets high in cholesterol. The researchers also present evidence that cholesterol-lowering “statin” drugs, now widely used in cardiovascular disease, may inhibit cancer growth.
