Low cholesterol may prevent some prostate cancers

A new study suggests that men may be able to lower their risk of getting the most aggressive form of prostate cancer by keeping their cholesterol in a healthy range.

Men whose cholesterol was under 200 had less than half the risk of developing high-grade prostate tumors compared to men with high cholesterol, researchers report. The information comes from about 6,000 men who were in a big federal cancer prevention study.

Doctors say it is premature to advise men to take statin drugs like Lipitor or Crestor in the hope of preventing prostate cancer, but these medicines are already widely used to ward off heart disease.

The new research is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.