There’s a double agent in your BLOOD?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Meet PCSK9: a gatekeeper enzyme, controlling your cholesterol levels. Sounds alright…
But new evidence from the Tavazoie lab at Rockefeller University reveals its sinister secret: helping cancer cells evade the immune system!
Patients with overactive PCSK9 were compromised. Their risk of aggressive cancer was ten times higher. This villainous protein has infiltrated deep, affecting seventy percent of women with European ancestry.
The silver lining? Cholesterol-lowering drugs that block PCSK9 are secret weapons in disguise. When tested, they reduced cancer spread by up to nearly half across several types of breast cancer.
Looks like these medications have earned their double-0 status – licensed to lower cholesterol and eliminate cancer cells.
Reference: Mei, W., Tabrizi, S. F., Godina, C., Lovisa, A. F., Isaksson, K., Jernström, H., & Tavazoie, S. F. (2024). A commonly inherited human PCSK9 germline variant drives breast cancer metastasis via LRP1 receptor. Cell.