Statins increase the risk of prostate cancer: a population-based case-control study

Experimental studies have shown that statins have potential protective effects against cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of statins was associated with prostate cancer risk.

We conducted a population-based case-control study in Taiwan. Data were retrospectively collected from the Taiwan National health Insurance Research Database. Cases consisted of all patients who were aged 50 years and older and had a first-time diagnosis of prostate cancer for the period between 2005 and 2008. The controls were matched to cases by age, sex, and index date. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by using multiple logistic regression.

We examined 388 prostate cancer cases and 1,552 controls. We found that ever-use of any statin was associated with a significant increase in prostate cancer risk (OR = 1.55, 95%CI = 1.09-2.19). Compared with no use of statins, the adjusted ORs (95%CI) were 1.17 (0.60-2.28) for the group with cumulative dose ≤29.44 DDD, 1.59 (1.02-2.48) for the group with cumulative dose between 29.44 DDD and 321.33 DDD, and 1.86 (1.03-3.37) for the group with the highest cumulative dose (≥321.33 DDD). Also, there was a significant trend toward increasing prostate cancer risk with increasing cumulative dose (χ(2) for linear trend = 7.23, P = 0.007).

The results of this case-control study suggest that statins may increase the risk of prostate cancer.