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Statin use appears to lower risk for colorectal cancer
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High adherence to statins may have beneficial effects beyond cholesterol management, including risk reduction for colon and rectal cancers, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.
“The best way to reduce cancer mortality is prevention and early detection. ... Early diagnosis of colorectal cancer may contribute to better survivor outcomes and quality of life,” Hee-Taik Kang, MD, PhD, of the department of family medicine at Chungbuk National University Hospital in Cheongju, South Korea, and colleagues wrote. “Because [3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A] reductase is involved in cholesterol synthesis and cell growth regulation, statins can have chemopreventive activity against cancer development and progression.”
Using data from 31,149 participants with hypercholesterolemia aged 40 to 79 years in the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort, Kang and colleagues identified 17,737 statin users (54.3% women) and 13,412 nonusers (33.8% women). The researchers used the medication possession ratio to determine high and low statin use. Diagnoses of colorectal, proximal colon and rectal cancers were recorded from 2002 to 2015 in the study cohort.
The risks for colorectal cancer (HR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.45-0.8), proximal colon cancer (HR = 0.3; 95% CI, 0.16-0.57) and rectal cancer (HR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.39-0.85) were lower for those who regularly used statins compared with those who did not use statins. Overall colorectal cancer risk was lower for men with high statin use (HR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.42-0.75) and women with high use (HR = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.46-0.9) compared with their nonuse counterparts. For women with high statin use, the researchers observed lower fully adjusted risk for rectal cancer (HR = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.72) compared with nonusers, whereas high use in men lowered risk for proximal colon cancer (HR = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.15-0.56) and rectal cancer (HR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.35-0.78) in fully adjusted models.
“This implies the possibility that the statins influenced the risks of proximal and distal colon and rectal cancers differently according to sex,” the researchers wrote. “Both genetic and environmental factors can also affect sex differences in colorectal cancer development. The proximal and distal colon and rectum have different embryological origins.” – by Phil Neuffer
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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