Statin use after prostate cancer diagnosis linked with lower mortality

Statin use after the diagnosis of prostate cancer appeared linked with reduced mortality, according to findings from a cohort study performed in Denmark.

However, the study did not establish whether the association was causal.

“Increasing evidence indicates that the use of statins may delay prostate cancer progression,” Signe Benzon Larsen, PhD, of the Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, and colleagues wrote. “A beneficial effect of statin use on the progression of prostate cancer would clearly be of high value in the management of prostate cancer, both as a supplement to active surveillance or watchful waiting and as an adjuvant therapy to the standard treatment of prostate cancer.”

The researchers used a national registry to identify all patients who had prostate adenocarcinoma in Denmark between 1998 and 2011 (n = 31,790). Statin use of two or more prescriptions as a time-varying covariate with a 1-year lag defined postdiagnosis use. Larsen and colleagues evaluated possible associations between statin therapy and cancer-specific and all-cause mortality through 2013.

A total of 7,365 patients (23%) died of prostate cancer during a median 2.8 years of follow-up beginning at 1 year after diagnosis; 11,811 (37%) died of other causes.

Patients who used statins after diagnoses had a 17% lower cancer-specific mortality than those who did not (adjusted HR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.77-0.89), as well as a lower all-cause mortality (adjusted HR = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.76-0.85). The researchers reported similar results for 1-year and 5-year sensitivity analyses.

Researchers observed no significant relationship with type of statin, dose, Gleason score, clinical stage or prediagnosis statin use. However, patients who received prostate cancer diagnoses earlier in the study period, or who underwent endocrine therapy or radical prostatectomy, both showed slightly lower hazard ratios for cancer-specific mortality with postdiagnosis statins.

“Our study adds to the increasing evidence that statin use is associated with reduced prostate cancer mortality,” the researchers wrote. “Additional research is needed to establish whether statins have genuine therapeutic potential in the management of prostate cancer. Effects should be investigated according to diagnostic, patient and tumor characteristics for both prostate cancer mortality and intermediate outcomes (eg, biochemical recurrence). Interaction with potential biomarkers should also be explored.” ­– by Andy Polhamus

Disclosures: Larsen reports travel, accommodations and expenses from Janssen Oncology. Please see the full study for a list of all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.