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Statins pre-surgery may hinder advancement of prostate cancer

By Jeremy Cockerill | February 19, 2010

Source: MedWire News

Research shows that prostate cancer patients who use statins before undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) are at significantly lower risk for tumor inflammation than men who do not take statins pre-surgery.

Previous research has indicated that inflammation is associated with advanced prostate cancer, and statin use has been associated with a decreased risk for prostate cancer progression.

“Our findings suggest that inhibition of inflammation within tumors may be a potential mechanism for purported anti-prostate cancer properties of statins,” report Lionel Bañez, from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, USA, and colleagues.

A total of 236 men undergoing RP were included in the study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Surgical specimens were graded 0–2 for inflammation surrounding malignant glands, where grade 0= no inflammation, grade 1= mild (10% or less) inflammation, and grade 2= marked (more than 10%) inflammation. The majority (82%) of patients had some inflammation, 36% of which represented marked tumor inflammation.

Patients were identified and analyzed as statin users or non-users, and dosage was also analyzed based on dose increments above a standard clinical prescription. Dose equivalent (DE) categories of less than 1, 1 (the standard), and more than 1 were evaluated.

In all, 16% of patients took statins the year before surgery, and there were no significant differences with regard to histopathologic tumor features between statin users and non-users.

Overall statin use before surgery was associated with a significant 69% reduction in risk for any inflammation (grade ≥1) surrounding malignant glands within RP specimens.

Multivariate analysis of the tiered dose categories showed that compared with no statin use, less than 1 DE was not significantly associated with inflammation, while more than 1 DE was associated with a noticeable, albeit statistically non-significant, 78% reduction in risk for inflammation.

In contrast, treatment of 1 DE was associated with a statistically significant 88% reduction in risk for tumor inflammation.

The analysis also revealed that older age, higher clinical stage, and a longer time from biopsy to surgery also significantly increased a man’s risk for tumor inflammation.

Bañez and team conclude that the observed prevention of inflammation “may be a potential mechanism that could explain why men on statins have lower risk for advanced prostate cancer.”