New cell study [1] below.
I have used Simvastatin for many years to try to prevent the production of cholesterol in PCa cells, & to otherwise limit access to circulating cholesterol. There appears to be synergy between statins & Zytiga (Abiraterone):
"We determined that androgen biosynthesis inhibitors simvastatin, atorvastatin, and ketoconazole directly inhibit growth, migration, and colony formation of LNCaP C-81 cells, which exhibit de novo androgen biosynthesis, with simvastatin being the most effective. Importantly, in combination treatments, statins specifically enhanced growth suppression with added effects by anti-androgen abiraterone acetate on the CR PCa cells. Thus, statins can be used in conjunction with abiraterone acetate to enhance anti-androgen therapy for CR PCa."
-Patrick
[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/313...
J Oncol Res Ther. 2017;3(5). pii: 139. Epub 2017 Dec 20.
Anti-Androgen Abiraterone Acetate Improves the Therapeutic Efficacy of Statins on Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells.
Miller DR1, Ingersoll MA1, Chou YW1,2, Wakefield CB1,3, Tu Y4, Lin FF1,5, Chaney WG1, Lin MF1,3,6,7.
Author information
1
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
2
BioBank/Tissue Bank, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China.
3
Section of Urological Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
4
Department of Pharmacology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA.
5
Human Genetic Laboratory, Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
6
Eppley Institute for Cancer Research, University of Nebraska, Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
7
College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China.
Abstract
The treatment of castration-resistant (CR) prostate cancer (PCa) is limited. A sub-population of CR PCa tumors can synthesize androgens for intracrine androgen receptor (AR) activation, thus targeting androgen biosynthesis could be an effective therapeutic option for these patients. We determined that androgen biosynthesis inhibitors simvastatin, atorvastatin, and ketoconazole directly inhibit growth, migration, and colony formation of LNCaP C-81 cells, which exhibit de novo androgen biosynthesis, with simvastatin being the most effective. Importantly, in combination treatments, statins specifically enhanced growth suppression with added effects by anti-androgen abiraterone acetate on the CR PCa cells. Thus, statins can be used in conjunction with abiraterone acetate to enhance anti-androgen therapy for CR PCa.
KEYWORDS:
Anti-Androgens; Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer; Combination Treatments; Prostate Cancer; Statins
PMID: 31328181