Experts reveal the new cholesterol drug that 'kills' prostate cancer

AN experimental drug designed to lower cholesterol has the potential to combat prostate cancer, research has shown.

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Cholesterol drugs may be the new key in the fight against prostate cancer

Nearly 11,000 men die from prostate cancer in Britain each year.

Tumours need cholesterol to build their cell walls.

Cutting their cholesterol production with a chemical compound known as RO 48-8071 causes the cancerous cells to fall apart and die, research has revealed. 

Professor Salman Hyder, of the University of Missouri, USA, led the research and said: “Often, cancer patients are treated with toxic chemotherapies.

“We focused on receding the production of cholesterol, which could kill the cancer and reduce the need for chemotherapy.”

The compound the Professor and his team tested was originally developed by the drug company Roche for the treatment of high cholesterol.

The study, which will appear in the journal OncoTargets and Therapy, tells how Professor Hyder’s team discovered that the drug killed cancer cells in the laboratory.

The research team found human prostate cancer cells exposed to the drug in the laboratory died.

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Tumours use cholesterol to produce the testosterone they need to survive

When the drug was injected into mice with human prostate cancer, tumour growth was curbed.

Prostate cancer is treated in the first instance by preventing its growth being fuelled by the male hormone testosterone.

But over time, the cancer stops responding to this treatment.

In the research, the drug seemed to be effective against prostate cancer cells that had become resistant to hormone treatments.

One of the ways in which tumours fight against destruction is by making their own testosterone through a process that relies on cholesterol.

Explaining why this is important, Professor Hyder said: “Cholesterol….can contribute to the development of anti-hormone resistance because cholesterol is converted into hormones in tumour cells.


This research breakthrough comes as it is found yogurt and Sauerkraut can help fight cancer by boosting gut bacteria.