The wonders of statins and other stories . . .

Minerva thinks that statins are wonderful drugs. Not only have they saved the lives of millions of people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but they may also reduce all cause and cancer specific mortality in men with prostate cancer. A study of four large UK databases in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2013, doi:10.1200/JCO.2013.49.4757) found that men who were taking statins at the time of diagnosis had a 34% reduction in adjusted all cause mortality after a mean follow-up of 4.4 years. Men who started statins after the diagnosis of prostate cancer had a smaller but still significant 18% reduction in all cause mortality, with a cumulative dose related effect. Observed reductions in prostate cancer related mortality in both statin groups were even larger, pointing to a cancer specific effect.

Statins also reduce recurrent venous thromboembolism, according to a prospective cohort study of all patients with a hospital diagnosis of venous thromboembolism in Denmark during 1997-2009 who received a prescription for warfarin …