Could Statin Drugs Help Fight Mesothelioma?
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Could Statin Drugs Help Fight Mesothelioma?

A new study suggests that some of the most popular drugs used to treat high cholesterol may also help combat deadly malignant mesothelioma. That finding comes from Japanese research, published recently in the medical journal, Cancer Letters. The study found a “synergistic effect” in mesothelioma cells between two statin drugs, atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor) and gamma tocotrienol (y-T3), a form of Vitamin E. “Statin+y-T3 combinations induced greater cell growth inhibition more than each single treatment,” write the authors in the summary of their findings. The combination of statin drugs and gamma-tocotrienol appears to work by inhibiting an important metabolic pathway inside the mesothelioma cells, making it impossible for them to synthesize or utilize certain critical molecules. When the researchers…