Statin use was associated with a moderate but significant 10% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer, based on a meta-analysis of 24 studies, investigators reported at the meeting.
Data from some previous studies have suggested that statin use helps protect against colon cancer, but epidemiologic studies have shown mixed results, according to Wayne State University in Detroit in their poster.
The researchers reviewed data from 24 studies published between 1996 and 2009. The result included a total of 1.7 million adults who participated in 12 case-control studies, 6 randomized controlled trials. Over all, the pooled risk estimate was 0.90, for a significant 10% reduction in colorectal cancer risk among statin users. The average duration of statin use was 2.8 years.
When the types of studies were analyzed separately, statin use was associated with a significant 10% reduction in colorectal cancer risk in the case-control studies and a significant 11% reduction in the cohort studies.
In the randomized controlled trials, statin use was linked to a 10% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer, but this decrease was not significant.
Although the data show a modest overall reduction on colorectal cancer risk associated with statin use, the results appear to be driven by less robust study designs, rather than by randomized, controlled trials, the investigators noted.
In addition the study was limited by the lack of long-term trials, which are important given the latency period between the initial stages of cancer development and its detection.