Study title and authors:
Statins And Cancer: Cause For Concern
Uffe Ravnskov, Paul J. Rosch, Peter H.Langsjoen, Joel M. Kauffman, and Kilmer S. McCully
Magle Stora Kyrkogata 9, S-22350 Lund, Sweden.
This paper can be accessed at: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/323/7322/1145#26439
Dr Uffe Ravnskov has published over 80 scientific papers regarding the cholesterol, saturated fat, heart disease hypothesis. Here he questions the wisdom of recommending statin treatment for a large segment of the world’s population simply because they have elevated cholesterol levels or are assumed to be at increased risk for coronary events because of the presence of other risk markers.
He finds:
(i) It is already known that statins may induce fatal rhabdomyolysis, cardiac insufficiency, peripheral polyneuropathy, hepatic toxicity, and mental disturbances.
(ii) A much more momentous issue is that all statins have proven carcinogenic.
(iii) In the Heart Protection Study non-melanoma skin cancer was seen in 243 patients treated with simvastatin compared with 202 cases in the control group.
(iv) In the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study non-melanoma skin cancer was seen in 13 patients treated with simvastatin compared with six in the control group.
(v) Also disquieting was the significant increase in breast cancer rates in patients treated with pravastatin in the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events trial.
