There is preclinical evidence suggesting that statins could have anticancer properties by inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis, or inhibiting angiogenesis, and recent epidemiological studies have shown an association between statin use and reductions in cancer recurrence or cancer-specific mortality in patients with breast and prostate cancer. Limited studies of patients with colorectal cancer have so far not reported any statistically significant benefit for statins.
This study used linked data from United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), the National Cancer Data Repository, and the Office of National Statistics to identify a cohort of patients with newly diagnosed stage I to III colorectal cancer (n=7,657). Statin use was determined from GP prescribing records in the CPRD, and a number of potential confounders were considered in the adjusted analyses. The observed reductions in cancer-specific and all-cause mortality in colorectal cancer patients who used statins after diagnosis were more marked in those using statins for more than 1 year.
Although the researchers used methods to account for confounding, the possibility of residual confounding by unrecorded or incomplete variables (such as passive smoking or BMI) cannot be ruled out. The observed association requires confirmation in large, well-conducted observational studies before randomised controlled trials of statins as an adjuvant cancer therapy can be recommended.