Statin use is associated with improved prostate cancer survival: is it time for a clinical trial?

Abstract

Evaluation of: Gutt R, Tonlaar N, Kunnavakkam R, Karrison T, Weichselbaum RR, Liauw SL. Statin use and risk of prostate cancer recurrence in men treated with radiation therapy. J. Clin. Oncol. 28, 2653–2659 (2010).Recent studies have reported an inverse association between statin use and risk of advanced prostate cancer. Thus, it is possible that statin exposure delays progression of prostate tumors to an advanced stage. The study by Gutt and colleagues gives two important contributions to this field of research. With a cohort of 691 men undergoing curative-intent radiation therapy for prostate cancer between 1996 and 2008, and with a median follow-up of 50 months, they demonstrate that statin use is associated with improved relapse-free survival. The result supports the idea that statins could delay prostate cancer progression. In addition, they demonstrate that low low-density lipoprotein levels are associated with improved relapse-free survival, supporting the idea that the prostate cancer progression-preventing effects of statins could be, at least in part, mediated by their systemic low-density lipoprotein-lowering effect. The study adds to the growing body of evidence on statins’ benefits against prostate cancer. The results have important implications when designing possible future clinical studies on this topic.