Prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, is a prostate gland protein found in increased amounts in men who have prostate cancer or noncancerous prostate disease. Doctors have discovered that use of cholesterol medications called statins can lower your PSA levels. However, they have not determined whether statin use or lowered cholesterol levels reduce your chances for the development of prostate problems.
PSA Basics
Normally, men have relatively low amounts of PSA circulating in their blood, according to the National Cancer Institute. In addition to cancer, PSA elevations can signal the onset of noncancerous conditions that include prostate enlargement, also called benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, and a form of prostate gland inflammation called prostatitis. Doctors don't believe that these benign conditions turn into prostate cancer, but you can have these conditions and cancer simultaneously. If you have elevated amounts of PSA, you will need further testing to determine the underlying problem.
Cholesterol, Statins and PSA
In 2008, the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" published a review of the medical records of 1,214 prostate cancer-free men who took cholesterol medications called statins. According to the results of this review, once these men started taking statins, they experienced a roughly 4 percent drop in their PSA levels. Reductions in PSA were particularly pronounced in men who took higher amounts of statins and subsequently had larger reductions in their cholesterol levels. In addition, men with higher initial PSA levels experienced greater reductions than men who had lower initial PSA levels.
Understanding Statins
Statins achieve their effects by stopping your body from making an enzyme that's required for internal cholesterol production. In addition, they may also stop the progression of cholesterol-based blockages in your blood vessels by helping your body reabsorb these blockages' cholesterol content. Typically, doctors prescribe statins to people who have difficulty controlling their cholesterol levels with changes in diet and exercise, and through quitting smoking. Commonly prescribed statins include rosuvastatin, or Crestor; simvastatin, or Zocor; and atorvastatin, or Lipitor.
Considerations
The authors of the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" study note that their findings may indicate a link between your cholesterol levels and both the onset of prostate cancer and its eventual progression. However, because they did not directly study the relationship between cholesterol and PSA, they don't know if lowered PSA levels come from lowered cholesterol in general or from the use of statins in particular. They also don't know if statin use ultimately decreases your prostate cancer risks or merely masks the presence of cancer by lowering your PSA readings. To safeguard your health, ask your doctor to separately monitor both your cholesterol levels and your PSA levels.
References
- National Cancer Institute: Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test
- "Journal of the National Cancer Institute"; The Influence of Statin Medications on Prostate-specific Antigen Levels; Hamilton, Goldberg, et al.; Oct. 28, 2008
- Science Daily: Choleterol-Lowering Drugs May Also Lower PSA...; Oct. 30, 2008
- Science Daily: Low Cholesterol Leads to Lower PSA...; May 18, 2008
- MayoClinic.com; Statins -- Are These Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Right for You?; Feb. 11, 2010
