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Statin Use and Risk of Prostate Cancer in a Population of Men Who Underwent Biopsy
The Journal of Urology, 06/13/2011
Tan N et al. – Statin use was associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer, less frequent high grade prostate cancer and lower volume of prostate cancer, suggesting that statin use has a protective effect against prostate cancer.
Methods- Authors performed a retrospective cohort study of men who underwent prostate biopsy from 2000 to 2007 at Cleveland Clinic.
- Statin use was determined using outpatient pharmacy records, and clinical and pathological outcomes were obtained.
- Multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the effects of statins (and duration of use) was performed after adjusting for age, body mass index, African-American race, number of cores taken and prostate volume
- Authors analyzed data from 4,204 patients, and we identified 3,182 (75.7%) not on statins and 1,022 on statins.
- Men diagnosed with prostate cancer on statins compared to those not taking statins were less likely to have digital rectal examination positivity (5.3% vs 8.9%, OR 0.7, p <0.01), Gleason score 7 or greater prostate cancer (61.4% vs 72.4%, OR 0.78, p = 0.02) and high volume prostate cancer (27.2 vs 31.4, p <0.01).
- Moreover statin users had lower prostate specific antigen compared to nonstatin users (5.13 vs 5.98, p = 0.03).
- Multivariate analysis adjusted risk ratios for prostate cancer diagnosis, high grade prostate cancer (Gleason score 7 or greater) and 3 or more cores positive in statin users were 0.92 (95% CI 0.85-0.98), 0.76 (95% CI 0.67-0.85) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.75-0.97) and only high grade prostate cancer persisted with length of use.
