Statin Eligibility May Predict Cancer Risk

Patients who are eligible to receive statins typically have an increased risk of cancer, according to a recent study.

Cancer and cardiovascular (CV) disease have similar risk factors. Additionally, some existing evidence indicates that statins can reduce cancer mortality.
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In their study, the researchers evaluated 2916 participants from the offspring and third-generation cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study. All participants were statin-naïve and cancer-free at baseline. Statin eligibility was determined using the guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA). Computed tomography was used to assess subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.

Demographic information indicated that mean participant age was 50.5 years, and 55% of participants were female.

The researchers defined the primary outcome as incident cancer at a median of 10 years of follow-up, and secondary outcomes as cancer mortality and non-CV mortality.

Results of the study indicated that 247 (11.2%) of 2196 patients had developed cancer. A total of 58 patients had died from non-CV causes, with 39 of these deaths being cancer-related.

A total of 812 (37%) of 2196 patients were eligible for statins. Of these, 125 (15%) had developed cancer, vs 122 (8.8%) of the 1384 non-eligible participants. A total of 34 (4.2%) of the 812 statin-eligible participants had died, vs 5 (0.4%) of the 1384 non-eligible participants.

According to the researchers, non-CV mortality occurred in 49 (6%) of the 812 statin-eligible participants, compared with 9 (0.7%) of the 1384 non-eligible participants. Stratified analyses demonstrated that these findings were independent of any individual causative risk factor, like body mass index, age, or smoking status.

“In this community-based primary prevention cohort, guideline-based statin eligibility accurately identified patients at a higher risk of developing cancer and cancer-related mortality,” the researchers concluded. “Shared risk profiles and potential benefits of statins between cancer and cardiovascular outcomes may provide a unique opportunity to improve population health.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Pursnani A, Massaro JM, D’Agostino RB, O’Donnell CJ, Hoffmann U. Guideline-based statin eligibility, cancer events, and noncardiovascular mortality in the Framingham Heart Study. J Clin Oncol. doi:10.1200/JCO.2016.71.3594.