WILMINGTON, Del., March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ —
Christiana Care Health System’s Helen F. Graham Cancer
Center is leading a national clinical trial to determine if
Crestor® (Rosuvastatin), a cholesterol-lowering drug, can
prevent new colon tumors from forming after colon cancer
surgery.

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The study seeks to determine if Crestor can stop the growth of
tumor cells by blocking some of the enzymes that
affect cell growth. The trial will also determine if Crestor
can keep new  colon tumors from forming after
surgery to remove a patient’s initial colon cancer.

The study, entitled, “P-5: Statin Polyp Prevention Trial in
Patients with Resected Colon Cancer,” is conducted under the
auspices of the National Cancer Institute by a network of cancer
research professionals, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and
Bowel Project (NSABP). It takes place at more than 200 medical
centers throughout North America.

“Previous epidemiological studies looking back at patient data
associated with statin use indicate these drugs lower the
risk of colorectal cancer, but the evidence remains controversial,”
says Bruce Boman, M.D., Ph.D., study protocol chair. “Earlier
studies were designed to investigate lipid-lowering or
cardiovascular endpoints over the short-term rather than tumor
development in the long run.”

Dr. Boman is director of Cancer Genetics at the Helen F. Graham
Cancer Center’s Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Program. He is
also a scientist at the Center for Translational Cancer
Research who investigates how cancer stem cells drive tumor
growth.

The study aims to recruit 1,740 patients who have recently been
diagnosed with early stage colon cancer and who were not already
taking statins for hi

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