Postmenopausal women who use statins have the same risk of breast cancer as those who do not, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Using a group of 156,351 women from the Women's Health Initiative study, Jane A. Cauley, Dr.P.H., from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues examined use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins and risk of invasive breast cancer. After an average follow-up of 6.7 years, they identified 4,383 invasive breast cancers.

The authors found that when all statins were considered together, statin use did not affect a person's risk of invasive breast cancer. Use of a type of statins, known as hydrophobic statins, was associated with an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer.

"Future studies of statins and breast cancer should assess associations with individual statins or statin categories because [statin] class differences may exist," the authors write.

SOURCE:
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, May 17, 2006