Common pills taken by tens of millions of Americans may lower risk of liver cancer by a third, study finds

Cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by tens of millions of Americans could significantly reduce the risk of developing common cancers, a study suggests.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health Maryland People who took cholesterol absorption inhibitors were found to have up to a 31% reduced risk of liver cancer.

People who took statins were found to have a reduced risk of the same disease by up to 35%.

A combined total of 54 million people in the United States take statins and cholesterol absorption inhibitors such as Zetia.

In previous studies, Taking statins may lower your risk There is a risk of developing 20 types of cancer, including breast cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer.

Writing a journal article cancerThe researchers suggested that the drug may reduce levels of inflammation in the liver and lessen damage to cells.

The researchers collated and analyzed data from 3,719 patients who had liver cancer and 14,876 people who did not develop liver cancer.

The patients’ average age was 69 years, 70 percent were men, and they were more likely to have obesity, type 2 diabetes, and alcohol-related disorders than the general population.

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Patients were asked whether they had ever taken any of six types of cholesterol-lowering drugs, including bile acid sequestrants (an alternative to statins), fibrates, niacin (which also lowers cholesterol), omega-3 fatty acids, or statins.

Statins, cholesterol absorption inhibitors, bile acid sequestrants, and fibrates are all drugs that help lower cholesterol levels in humans.

Most people will be prescribed a statin, but those who cannot take this medication, for example because of liver or muscle disease, may be offered an alternative instead.

Niacin (a B vitamin) and omega-3 fatty acids also help lower cholesterol, according to some studies.

After adjusting for factors such as sex, weight, smoking status and diabetes, the researchers found that people who took cholesterol absorption inhibitors had a lower risk of liver cancer.

People taking other medications, apart from omega-3 fatty acids, were found to have a higher risk of cancer, but experts said this could be related to other factors.

High cholesterol levels increase the chances of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and increase the risk of developing liver cancer.

This increases the risk of scarring and inflammation in the liver and makes it more likely that some cells in the liver will become cancerous.

“Few studies have examined the effect of non-statin cholesterol-lowering drugs on liver cancer risk, so our results need to be replicated in other populations,” said Dr. Katherine McGlynn, an NIH cancer epidemiologist who worked on the study.

“However, if our findings are confirmed in other studies, our findings may be useful for liver cancer prevention research.”

Data were extracted from the UK database Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a primary care database covering approximately 7% of the UK population.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, caused by hepatitis B and C infections, accounting for 78% of cases.

However, the disease is less common in the United States due to a vaccination drive.

Approximately 41,600 new cases are diagnosed each year and 29,800 people die from this cancer.

The cancer has a high mortality rate because it may not be detected until an advanced stage when it is more difficult to treat.