Towfiqu barbhuiya By Stephen Beech via SWNS Statins may prevent cancer, suggests a new study. The anti-cholesterol pills taken by millions of people to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke may also keep cancer at bay by blocking a key inflammatory protein, say American scientists. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications , show that statins can obstruct a particular pathway involved in the development of cancer that results from chronic inflammation.
Study senior author Professor Shawn Demehri said: “Chronic inflammation is a major cause of cancer worldwide. “We investigated the mechanism by which environmental toxins drive the initiation of cancer-prone chronic inflammation in the skin and pancreas. “Furthermore, we examined safe and effective therapies to block this pathway in order to suppress chronic inflammation and its cancer aftermath.
” Demehri, of Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston, and his colleagues’ research involved animal models, human tissue samples and epidemiological data. National Cancer Institute The team’s cell-based experiments showed that environmental toxins - such as exposure to allergens and chemical irritants - activate two connected signaling pathways called the TLR3/4 and TBK1-IRF3 pathways. Demehri explained that the activation leads to the production of the interleukin-33 (IL-33) protein, which stimulates inflammation in the skin and pancreas that can contribute to the development of cancer .
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