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Simvastatin associated with reduced risk for breast cancer recurrence
Ahern TP. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011;doi:10.1093/jnci/djr291.
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A nationwide study of Danish women with breast cancer showed that simvastatin, a highly lipophilic statin, was associated with a 10% reduced risk for recurrence. There was no association between hydrophilic statin use and recurrence.
Researchers followed 18,769 women diagnosed with stage I to stage III disease for a median of 6.8 years after diagnosis in this prospective, population-based study. During follow-up, 3,282 patients were prescribed a statin. Of these, 2,524 were prescribed lipophilic statins exclusively, 92% of which were for simvastatin, and 206 were prescribed hydrophilic statins exclusively, according to the study. The median duration of exposure was 4 years.
Statin users were older, more likely to be postmenopausal at diagnosis and had more comorbid conditions compared with nonusers. They were also more likely to have ER-positive tumors and to receive adjuvant endocrine therapy, but were less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy.
During a maximum follow-up of 10 years, overall adjusted recurrence risk was 0.207 for statin users compared with 0.302 for nonusers. Recurrence risk for lipophilic statin users was 0.194 and 0.35 for hydrophilic statin users.
Women who used hydrophilic statins had the same 10-year rate of recurrence as nonusers (HR=1.2; 95% CI, 0.79-1.7). Rate of recurrence was superior for lipophilic statin users compared with nonusers (HR=0.73; 95% CI, 0.60-0.89).
Researchers found an inverse association between exclusive simvastatin use and the 10-year rate of recurrence (HR=0.70; 95% CI, 0.57-0.86). Women who used simvastatin exclusively had roughly 10 fewer recurrences per 100 women after 10 years of follow-up compared with women who were not prescribed a statin.
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