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Association between statin use and colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 42 studies

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Abstract

Purpose

There is a long-standing debate about whether statins have chemopreventive properties against colorectal cancer (CRC), but the results remain inconclusive. We therefore present a meta-analysis to investigate the association between statin use and risk of CRC.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was undertaken through July 2013 looking for eligible studies. Pooled relative risk (RR) estimates and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate estimated effect.

Results

Forty-two studies [18 case–control studies, 13 cohort studies, and 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs)] were included in this analysis. Overall, statin use was associated with a modest reduction in the risk of CRC (RR = 0.90, 95 % CI 0.86–0.95). When the analyses were stratified into subgroups, a significant decreased association of CRC risk was observed in observational studies (RR = 0.89, 95 % CI 0.84–0.95), rectal cancer (RR = 0.81, 95 % CI 0.66–0.99), and lipophilic statin (RR = 0.88, 95 % CI 0.85–0.93), but not in RCTs (RR = 0.96, 95 % CI 0.85–1.08), colon cancer, and hydrophilic statin. However, long-term statin use (≥5 years) did not significantly affect the risk of CRC (RR = 0.96, 95 % CI 0.90–1.03). Cumulative meta-analysis showed that statin use significantly reduces the risk of CRC, which has been available between 2007 and 2013.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that statin use is associated with a modest reduced risk of CRC; apparent associations were found for lipophilic statin use. However, long-term statin use did not appear to significantly affect the risk of CRC.

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There are no potential conflicts of interest among any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

    Yanqiong Liu, Jian Wang, Li Xie, Taijie Li, Yu He, Yan Deng, Qiliu Peng, Shan Li & Xue Qin

  2. Department of Colorectal and Anal Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

    Weizhong Tang

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  1. Yanqiong Liu
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  2. Weizhong Tang
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  3. Jian Wang
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  4. Li Xie
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  9. Shan Li
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Correspondence to Shan Li or Xue Qin.

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Yanqiong Liu and Weizhong Tang have contributed equally to this study and should be considered as co-first authors.

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Liu, Y., Tang, W., Wang, J. et al. Association between statin use and colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 42 studies. Cancer Causes Control 25, 237–249 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-013-0326-6

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