The latest research found that some statins can improve the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs used to treat blood cancer in mouse models. Statins are drugs that treat patients with reduced fat in the blood. They are commonly used to lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels and reduce fat associated with heart attacks and strokes. In this new experiment, the researchers found that they may also be used to treat certain blood cancers.
Tidligere forskning har vist, at statiner fremmer apoptose (naturlig celledød) i visse typer kræft, og dette fund tyder på, at de kan være nyttige til behandling af disse kræftformer. I denne undersøgelse fandt forskerne, at simvastatin forbedrede effektiviteten af Venetoclax mod kronisk lymfatisk leukæmi i en musemodel. Det hjælper med at reducere lymfomer ved at øge apoptosesignalet i kræftceller, hvilket resulterer i øget overlevelsestid. De påpegede også, at dette fund er mere effektivt end noget lægemiddel givet alene.
The researchers were encouraged by the results of this study and began three clinical trials involving the testing of Venetoclax for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, looking for data on patients who had received statins. They found that these patients responded better to cancer by 2.7 times than those who did not take statins.
Forskere siger, at hvis statiner har samme virkning hos mennesker, bruger millioner af mennesker rundt om i verden dem ofte til at sænke kolesterolniveauet. Udover at reducere fedt i blodet, har de også vist sig ikke at have nogen bivirkninger. Forskerne mener, at der bør udføres kliniske forsøg for at afgøre, om statiner kan forbedre prognosen for patienter med leukæmi og andre blodkræftformer.
