Heart healthy equals prostate healthy equals statins: the next cancer chemoprevention trial. Part I

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Several important observations should be kept in mind by cancer researchers: cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death; CVD is the number one cause of death in the largest cancer chemoprevention trials; CVD is the number one or two cause of death in prostate cancer patients; and some of the mechanisms that increase the risk of CVD may also increase the risk or progression of prostate cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: Screening studies suggest a high prevalence of dyslipidemia in men with and without prostate cancer. Numerous recent lifestyle interventions that reduce cholesterol have also been found to have a potential impact on reducing the risk of prostate cancer. Recent studies of statins and other heart healthy agents have found a secondary potential for exhibiting a reduced risk or progression of prostate cancer. SUMMARY: Laboratory and clinical data over the past several decades continue to support the use of a heart healthy agent in the nest cancer chemoprevention trial. The potential for an agent to simultaneously reduce the risk of the primary and secondary cause of death suggests that statins and other heart healthy agents are the ideal next interventions to be utilized in the next major cancer chemoprevention trial. If successful, this agent would most likely represent a dramatic impact on the history of cancer chemoprevention, and if not successful the potential secondary impact would again be a landmark finding in cancer chemoprevention; so the time is more than ripe for such a unique trial.