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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / January 2004Statins and Radiation
Just prior to Dennis starting his IMRT we saw an article about the findings at Sloan Kettering in regard to men who were taking Statins at the same time as having RT. Remarkably they found that men who had been taking Statins such as Lipitor for cholesterol problems were having better results in conjunction with RT. When we told the Rad Onc we wanted Dennis to take Lipitor he thought that we were nuts, but bowed to Dennis' wishes....so yesterday at their weekly consultation the DR happens to comment to Dennis that he has read that Statins are indeed being found useful in RT, possibly to the point of being better than hormones in the successful treatment of PCa. Just thought I would pass this morsel along to any of you who are gearing up for RT. The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just two left to go, and then 17 to his prostate. So far any sides effects such as fatigue, diarrhea and stomach pain have been minimal with the fatigue being the most bothersome, but that can also be a side effect from the HT. He had his second injection of Eligard on Jan 9. He said on a score of 1 to 10 the severity of any hot flashes he has had have been about a 2. He has only missed three days of work since he started his IMRT, and one of those was due to a cold, but the fatigue does make it harder to deal with other things. Just thought I would update everyone on his progress. Bonnie Thanks for the update, Bonnie. Sorry about the side effects. I sure hope that, in the end, it proves to be a decent trade -- side effects for life.  SignatureProstate Cancer Survivor (so far), not a doctor PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .3 .2 .2 .2 .3 Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48 HTbegins 07/21/2003 @ 48 PSA .1 Lupron 7/03, 8/03, 12/03 > Just prior to Dennis starting his IMRT we saw an article about the findings > at Sloan Kettering in regard to men who were taking Statins at the same time [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > would pass this morsel along to any of you who are gearing up for RT. > The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 > Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just two left to > go, and then 17 to his prostate. So far any sides effects such as fatigue, [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Just thought I would update everyone on his progress. > Bonnie > Just prior to Dennis starting his IMRT we saw an article about the findings > at Sloan Kettering in regard to men who were taking Statins at the same time [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Just thought I would update everyone on his progress. > Bonnie OK Bonnie, you've definitely peaked my interest seeing as how my husband Dave is getting ready to start Radiation soon. What dosage is Dennis taking and how long is he planning on taking it? Did he start it with Radiation or prior to it? It seems like it sure can't hurt and to think that it may actually help - that's great especially since it states that the most benefit from statins was achieved in the intermediate and high-risk patients. Thanks for the insight and I hope my husband fares as well as yours with the Radiation. Sandi > Just prior to Dennis starting his IMRT we saw an article about the findings > at Sloan Kettering in regard to men who were taking Statins at the same time [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > would pass this morsel along to any of you who are gearing up for RT. > The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 > Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just two left to > go, and then 17 to his prostate. So far any sides effects such as fatigue, [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Just thought I would update everyone on his progress. > Bonnie I just did a Google search on statins and cancer and came up with all sorts of stuff. http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002490-00_18-002003-00_19-00104183,00.asp claims that women taking statins had a _higher_ incidence of breast cancer than women who were not. Several years ago, it was thought that angiostatin and endostatin provided major breakthroughs in cancer fighting by starving tumors of their blood supply. Some experiments and studies seem to confirm this. Others did not. A big study looking at 30,000 cases of many types of cancers was not able to come to any definite conclusion one way or the other. See http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/cardiac/statcanc.html Of course none of these were specifically studies of statins and radiation. So much of the medical information we have is based on statistical correlations where not all factors are fully known or under control. It's hard to know what the correlations really mean or what the underlying association between the correlated factors really is. I'm not suggesting that statins are a bad idea, only that it's early to tell. Patients wanting to enhance their radiation (and why not try) should also consider hormone therapy before radiation - for which more studies have been done. Alan Alan Dennis is on hormone therapy. He is having monthly Eligard injections. He started out with Casodex and chose to use Eligard , not Lupron, based on the research that we did. I posted the information in case others were not aware of the possible link that statins may make Radiation Therapy work better. We are so pleased that the side effects that Dennis has had have been minimal to say the least. The fatigue has not been debilitating, and any other discomfort has been handled with Immodium and a script for frequent urination at night. Bonnie > > Just prior to Dennis starting his IMRT we saw an article about the > findings [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > would pass this morsel along to any of you who are gearing up for RT. > > The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 > > Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just two left > to [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I just did a Google search on statins and cancer and came up with > all sorts of stuff. http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002490-00_18-002003-00_19-00104183,00.asp > claims that women taking statins had a _higher_ incidence of breast cancer > than [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Alan Bonnie, I didn't mean to criticize your posting. What you did was helpful to all of us - both those who might want to try statins now, and those who may not be ready to try, but want to follow the research and look for confirmations. I'm glad Dennis is doing well. It sounds like he's got all bases covered. Alan > Alan > Dennis is on hormone therapy. He is having monthly Eligard injections. He [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > > would pass this morsel along to any of you who are gearing up for RT. > > > The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 > > > Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just two > left [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > I just did a Google search on statins and cancer and came up with > > all sorts of stuff. http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002490-00_18-002003-00_19-00104183,00.asp > > claims that women taking statins had a _higher_ incidence of breast cancer > > than [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > > > Alan Interesting to me, Bonnie. Ron (and myself as well) have been taking a statin called Lescol for years.......I think that is excellent news. I must remember to tell him in the morning.....and we will be seeing the Rad Onc in a couple of weeks, so I will try to remember to ask him about this. Hey....if it helps, why not take it!! Heather > Alan > Dennis is on hormone therapy. He is having monthly Eligard injections. He [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > > would pass this morsel along to any of you who are gearing up for RT. > > > The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 > > > Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just two > left [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > I just did a Google search on statins and cancer and came up with > > all sorts of stuff. http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002490-00_18-002003-00_19-00104183,00.asp > > claims that women taking statins had a _higher_ incidence of breast cancer > > than [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > > > Alan Heather That was our atttitude exactly. I believe in hedging my bets, and even though the Rad Onc was doubtful at first he laughed and said it wouldn't hurt anything. Now he is giving us the thumbs up for asking about it in the first place. If I thought dancing naked at the full moon would give Dennis a better chance I would be checking the calender. :)) Print out the article and take it with you...that's what we did. Bonnie > Interesting to me, Bonnie. Ron (and myself as well) have been taking a > statin called Lescol for years.......I think that is excellent news. I [quoted text clipped - 51 lines] > RT. > > > > The original article can be found at the following link. http://www.cancerconsultants.com/patient_new/news_article.php?article=prostate_o ct03_8 > > > > Dennis has now had 23 pelvic IMRT at 1.8 grey's a day, with just > two [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > > I just did a Google search on statins and cancer and came up with > > > all sorts of stuff. http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002490-00_18-002003-00_19-00104183,00.asp > > > claims that women taking statins had a _higher_ incidence of breast > cancer [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > > > > > Alan |
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