Statins may cause a huge rise in breast cancer risk

This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine 1996 Oct 3;335(14):1001-9

Study title and authors:
The effect of pravastatin on coronary events after myocardial infarction in patients with average cholesterol levels. Cholesterol and Recurrent Events Trial investigators.

Sacks FM, Pfeffer MA, Moye LA, Rouleau JL, Rutherford JD, Cole TG, Brown L, Warnica JW, Arnold JM, Wun CC, Davis BR, Braunwald E.
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8801446

This study, named the Cholesterol and Recurrent Events Trial (CARE) investigated the effects of statins in patients with coronary disease, who have average (below 240 mg/dL or 6.2 mmol/L) cholesterol levels. The study was a double-blind, placebo controlled trial lasting five years and included 4,159 patients who received either 40 mg of pravastatin per day or placebo.

The study found:
(a) Those taking statins had a 19% reduced risk of death from coronary heart disease compared to placebo.
(b) Those taking statins had a 45% increased risk of death due to cardiovascular but noncoronary causes compared to placebo.
(c) Those taking statins had a 100% increased risk of violent death compared to placebo.
(d) Those taking statins had a 9% increased risk of death from cancer compared to placebo.
(e) Those taking statins had a 7% increased risk of any cancer compared to placebo.
(f) Women taking statins had a 1100% increased risk of breast cancer compared to placebo.

Dr Uffe Ravnskov, an expert in cholesterol, statins and heart disease, commented in his book 'The Cholesterol Myths': "Considering the large number of participants, this result doesn't seem particularly impressive... In fact, the reduction in coronary heart disease deaths was offset by the fact that in the treatment (statin) group a few more had died from other causes".