Statins

People with kidney cancer or myeloma treated with statins showed moderately better survival in some studies. People with breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, stomach, endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, or prostate cancer or melanoma had slightly to moderately better cancer-specific survival when treated with statins. People with advanced prostate or pancreatic cancer have seen better survival when using statins.

Treatment with simvastatin may lower resistance to some chemotherapy drugs for people with myeloma. People with lung cancer treated with statins have shown slightly lower cancer-specific mortality in some situations. Among lymphomas, only people with Burkitt lymphoma have shown a survival benefit from using statins, and it was substantial.

People with bladder or urothelial cancers, brain cancer, or lymphoma other than Burkitt lymphoma have not seen a survival benefit from using statins.

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What is your body terrain? ›

Treatment with statins lowers markers of inflammation among people with conditions other than cancer, such as metabolic imbalances, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease. Some evidence shows people treated with statins have better markers of immune function after surgery or during hospitalization. People treated with lipophilic statins may show lower markers of blood coagulation, a process that can support cancer growth and spread.

Statins increase levels of adiponectin, a hormone that plays a key role in regulating metabolism. People treated with statins show changes in levels of some sex hormones. Statin use may lower aldosteronea steroid hormone that helps control the balance of water and salts in the kidney. Too much aldosterone can cause high blood pressure and a build-up of fluid in body tissues. levels among people with high blood pressure or diabetes.

People with chest pain treated with rosuvastatin experienced some changes in their microbiomethe collection of microbes living on and within your body toward better function.

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People with cancer at increased risk of chemotherapy-related heart problems may show better heart and blood vessel function when treated with statins. People with thorax or head or neck cancer treated with statins after radiation therapy may have lower risk of stroke. People with myeloma treated with statins have shown a moderately lower risk of a skeletal-related event.

People with heart or blood vessel disease or conditions (not specific to cancer) treated with statins show better measures of heart function and lower risk of a major heart or blood vessel event such as death from coronary heart disease, nonfatal heart attack, resuscitated cardiac arrest, or fatal or nonfatal stroke. People treated with statins show a slightly lower risk of all-cause dementia.

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Cancer incidence

Most evidence does not show any effect of statins on risk of cancer as a whole or ultimate cancer mortality. For specific cancers, these reductions in risk have been observed in studies:

• Colorectal cancer: substantially lower risk among people with inflammatory bowel diseases, moderately lower risk among people using lipophilic statins
• Liver cancer: moderately lower risk, including among people with chronic liver disease
• Non-endometrioid endometrial cancer in women with type 2 diabetes: moderately lower risk
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: slightly to moderately lower risk
• Lymphoma as a whole or multiple myeloma: slightly lower risk
• Advanced adenoma, prostate cancer, or gynecologic cancer: slightly lower risk
• Basal cell carcinoma (but not other types of skin cancer, including melanoma): slightly lower risk

People treated with statins have not shown a lower risk of bladder cancer, glioma, breast cancer, or kidney cancer. People treated with both statins and aspirin show substantially lower risk of gallbladder cancer and moderately lower risk of Barrett’s esophagus—a risk factor for esophageal cancer.

Recurrence

People with cancer as a whole, breast cancer (including triple-negative breast cancer), or liver cancer treated with statins show a moderately lower risk of recurrence. People with lung cancer treated with statins show a slightly lower risk of recurrence. In one small study, people with type 2 diabetes and newly diagnosed ovarian cancer treated with statins showed substantially lower risk of recurrence. Treatment with statins has not led to lower risk of recurrence among people with colorectal, endometrial, head and neck, or kidney cancer.

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• Limited use by our program sources
• Not mentioned in cancer clinical practice guidelines

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• Some statins show an increased risk of several types of cancer, especially among older adults: bladder, breast, colorectal, wild-type p53 lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, stomach cancer, and thyroid cancer.
• Statins are linked to worse survival among people with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
• Several side effects of statins are noted, including liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, cataract, and myopathy.
• Use of statins has shown small but significant increases in markers or incidence of diabetes.
• Statins can interact with many other medications, including some chemotherapy drugs.
• Extreme caution is needed with use by people with specific conditions, or those undergoing treatments which may cause significant, even life-threatening interactions; supervision by a medical professional is essential.

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• Available with a prescription
• Inexpensive to expensive, depending on the individual statin: annual costs vary from US $120 to $6000
• Insurance may cover costs.

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