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(Circulation. 2007;115:27-33.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Epidemiology

Statins and the Risk of Lung, Breast, and Colorectal Cancer in the Elderly

Soko Setoguchi, MD, DrPH; Robert J. Glynn, PhD, ScD; Jerry Avorn, MD; Helen Mogun, MS; Sebastian Schneeweiss, MD, ScD

From the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

Reprint requests to Soko Setoguchi, MD, DrPH, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1620 Tremont St, Suite 3030, Boston, MA 02130. E-mail ssetoguchi{at}partners.org

Received July 11, 2006; accepted October 23, 2006.

Background— Although most randomized trials and meta-analyses suggest a slight or no increase in the risk of cancer in statin users, results from observational studies have been conflicting, and some have even suggested a large protective effect of statins on certain cancers. Long-term statin users tend to be healthier, less frail, and more adherent to therapy than nonusers, however. This could explain such apparent "protective" effects.

Methods and Results— We conducted the present cohort study by linking data from a large state drug benefit program with cancer registry data and Medicare healthcare utilization data. We identified all initiators of statins; initiators of glaucoma medications, another preventive drug, served as a comparison group. Outcomes included all registry-identified cases of colorectal, lung, and breast cancer. Multivariable Cox proportional models were used to adjust for confounding. Patient characteristics were similar in both groups, but statin initiators (n=24 439) were slightly younger and used some services more frequently than glaucoma drug initiators (n=7284). The mean follow-up was 2.9 years, with the longest follow-up being 8.4 years. Incidence rates of colorectal, lung, and breast cancers in both groups were very similar to rates in the general population. Adjusted hazard ratios were 0.96 (95% CI, 0.70 to 1.31) for colorectal cancer, 1.11 (95% CI, 0.77 to 1.60) for lung cancer, and 0.99 (95% CI, 0.74 to 1.33) for breast cancer.

Conclusions— These data from a large population of typical older patients who began using statins indicate that it is unlikely that statins confer a clinically important decrease or increase in the risk of colorectal, lung, or breast cancer over the durations studied.

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