Statin Use Linked to Reduced Colorectal Cancer Risk

Statin use was inversely associated with the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a large inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) cohort, according to a new study.

The researchers collected data from 11,001 patients with IBD receiving care at hospitals in the Greater Boston metro area from 1998-2010. They determined diagnoses of CRC using validated International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification codes. The investigators assessed statin use before diagnosis through analysis of electronic prescriptions and performed multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjusting for potential confounders including primary sclerosing cholangitis, smoking, increased levels of inflammation markers, and CRC screening practices to identify an independent association between statin use and CRC. They performed sensitivity analyses using propensity score adjustment and variation in the definition of statin use.
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In the cohort, 1376 of the patients (12.5%) received 1 or more prescriptions for a statin. Patients using statins were more likely to be older, male, white, and smokers, and have greater comorbidity than nonusers.

Over a follow-up period of 9 years, 2% of statin users developed CRC compared with 3% of nonusers (age-adjusted odds ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.53). On multivariate analysis, statin use remained independently and inversely associated with CRC (odds ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.28-0.62).

“Colorectal cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases,” the researchers concluded. “The efficacy of chemopreventives in reducing this risk has been weak and inconsistent, limited by the quality of data, much of which are from small cohorts or inadequately adjust for confounding disease-related factors. In this study, we used a large cohort of IBD patients with a long follow-up period to show a strong and robust inverse association between use of statins and risk of CRC.”

They added that prospective studies on the role of statins as chemopreventive agents are warranted.

-Mike Bederka

Reference:

Ananthakrishnan AN, Cagan A, Cai T, et al. Statin use is associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases [published online February 22, 2016]. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2016.02.017.