Statin use improves survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: A meta-analysis

Previous studies on statins' effect on survival of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) report conflicting results.

To evaluate the association between statin use and PDAC patients' survival.

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed including case-control, cohort studies and randomized controlled trials assessing the association between statin use and survival in PDAC patients. Pooled HRs with 95%CIs were calculated using random effects model; publication bias was assessed through Begg and Mazumdar test and heterogeneity by I² value.

14 studies with 33,137 PDAC patients, 40% under statins, were included. Statins use was associated to a reduced death risk (HR 0.871; 95%CI: 0.819; 0.927; p = 0.0001) suggesting a protective effect, homogeneous for different geographic areas. This effect was significant in surgically resected patients (HR 0.50; 95%CI: 0.32; 0.76; p = 0.001) but not in those with advanced disease (HR 0.78; 95%CI: 0.59; 1.02; p = 0.07). In studies providing information on statin type, only rosuvastatin resulted associated to a reduced risk of death (HR 0.88; 95%CI: 0.81; 0.96; p = 0.004).

Statins use is significantly associated with a reduced risk of death in resected PDAC patients. This finding has to be considered with caution due to publication bias and the availability of only few studies for sensitivity analyses.