Limited anticancer role for preoperative statins in localised RCC setting

By Shreeya Nanda, Senior medwireNews Reporter

Statin use prior to undergoing nephrectomy is not associated with survival outcomes in patients with localised renal cell carcinoma (RCC), research suggests.

The 10-year progression-free survival (PFS) rate was 80% for the 630 patients with nonmetastatic RCC who were taking at least one statin in the 3 months before undergoing radical or partial nephrectomy. This was comparable to the 79% PFS rate in the 1727 patients not taking statins at nephrectomy.

Ten-year cancer-specific and overall survival rates were also similar for statin users and nonusers, at 85% versus 84% and 59% versus 64%, respectively.

Multivariate analysis adjusting for factors such as age, gender, smoking status and body mass index also showed no significant association between statin use and either risk of disease progression, or RCC-related or all-cause mortality.

Nor was there an association between statin exposure and the risk of locally advanced pathological tumour stage or high tumour grade.

Researcher Stephen Boorjian (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA) and co-workers note that their data are contrary to a previous study that noted a favourable effect of statin use on cancer progression and overall survival, a discrepancy that they attribute to the “extended follow-up” and adjustment for additional adverse pathological features in their study.

But the researchers point out that their findings “should not undermine the intended effect of statin therapy”, as statin use significantly reduced the risk of mortality resulting from non-RCC-related causes, with a hazard ratio of 0.70.

They conclude in Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations: “As such, in light of ongoing controversy, future prospective analyses are warranted to elucidate the anticancer role of statin use among patients with surgically treated RCC.”

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