Lubet and his colleagues studied the effects of two popular cholesterol-lowering drugs, atorvastatin (Lipitor) and lovastatin (Mevacor), in warding off breast cancer. For instance, one recent study found that men who took statins had lower blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a biomarker for prostate cancer risk. "The initial dose was about twice as high as what a person would typically use," he said. "We certainly didn't see any positive effects," said Georgy Lubet, program director in the division of cancer prevention at the National Cancer Institute. -- Statins have clearly proven their mettle against heart disease, but the cholesterol-lowering drugs don't appear to possess cancer-fighting powers, a new animal study shows. "The second dose was even higher." Some researchers were hoping statins might have a double-edged effect, reducing heart disease risk as well as guarding against cancer. And in a report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2006, researchers found statins were associated with lower breast cancer incidence among women in the large-scale.

He led the study using mice and rats, which was published in the February issue of Cancer Prevention Research.