your connection to The Boston Globe  Study finds statins may cut
cancer risk  Research bolsters data on cholesterol medicines'
benefits  NEW ORLEANS -- In a case of medical serendipity, the
cholesterol-lowering pills called statins, widely prescribed to
prevent heart attacks, also appear to have an unintended but
potentially substantial benefit of warding off cancer.  Statins
are among the world's most commonly used medicines. Evidence has
been building for several years that people who take them to
improve their cholesterol levels appear to reduce their risk of
getting cancer.  The latest data, released yesterday at a cancer
conference, found that people who took statins for at least five
years appeared to cut their risk of colon cancer in half.
Earlier work has shown reductions in breast and prostate cancer
as well as across-the-board cancer risk.  Specialists have other
reasons to think the statins might be cancer fighters.
Experiments involving lab animals and cells growing in test
tubes suggest a possibl