Statins may counter vascular damage from radiotherapy

Statin therapy following radiation treatment for head, neck or thoracic cancer could reduce the risk of future stroke by one-third, a Canadian study suggests.

But Melbourne oncologist Associate Professor Gerry Hanna says that, although stroke risk can be elevated following radiotherapy, clinicians should not rush to prescribe statins in these patients unless they have specific cardiovascular risk factors.

In the largest study to date looking at whether statin therapy reduces vascular complications in patients undergoing radiotherapy, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study