Does Lowering Cholesterol Also Lower PSA Levels?
An effort to keep cholesterol down might also help men lower their levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)—a protein that can warn of prostate cancer. Using data collected on 1214 men taking statins, the researchers found that PSA levels were lower after starting the statins, and the reduction in PSA was relative to the drop in cholesterol. The results of the study, presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association, validate a previous study that also indicated that lowering cholesterol reduced PSA. The researchers noted that, if confirmed, the findings of the new study would provide additional evidence that cholesterol plays a part in the biology of the prostate. Murugesan Manoharan, MD, an associate professor of urology at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, who was not involved in the study, said it was not clear, however, whether reducing PSA with statins may actually conceal developing prostate cancer. He said that the cur
