Statins Could Cut Lung Cancer Risk

This protective effect rose along with the length of time statins were used. Those patients who took a statin for four years or more had a 77 percent reduction in lung cancer risk, the team noted.

However, statin use of less than six months was associated with anincreasedrisk for developing lung cancer.

But Khurana and his colleagues dismissed the notion that statin use actually caused this bump in risk. Instead, they attributed the finding to pre-existing conditions that went unnoticed or misstated in the early stages of study participation.

While encouraging, the new findings need to be replicated among a more diverse group of patients, including more women and non-veterans, the researchers said.

"We have very strong data based on actual patient chart review, not simply patient recall," noted Khurana, who is currently an associate professor of medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. "But there have been conflicting reports about statins being protective or not, and we were surprised by the high percentage of protection we saw. So we will need to look at this some more to see if other factors correlated with stain use is related to the cancer protection we found."

Future studies should also consider statin dosage and type, as well as other contributing risk factors for cancer such as diet, genetic background, and the possibility of underlying lung disease, his team said.

"What we need to do with future research is get to the point where we can start patients on this medication specifically for cancer prevention," according to Khurana. "Because, right now, we still cannot say that people should take statins to protect against cancer. But we can say that if they have a cholesterol problem and they're taking statins already, they might be deriving additional benefits against cancer from the medications."

Dr. Walid G. Younis, a pulmonary fellow at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City, said he was a little surprised at the study findings.

"We did a statin study about one year ago that did not show any benefit in decreasing lung cancer incidence," he cautioned. "It was a much smaller study, but still it makes me wonder if these conclusions will hold true. Especially because the mechanism by which statins might reduce the risk of lung cancer is not very clear. But, certainly, it's absolutely worth continuing to look at the protective possibility of statins."

Schachter agreed that further research is needed.

"Does this study prove that statins are useful for the treatment of lung cancer?" he posited. "No. Will the FDA now approve statins as safe and effective for the treatment of lung cancer? No, not based on this study. It's not definitive. But this work is certainly interesting, and it will spark interest in more research."

More information

For additional information on lung cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Vikas Khurana M.D., associate professor, medicine, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia; Neil Schachter, M.D., professor, pulmonary medicine, and medical director, respiratory care department, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City; Walid G. Younis, M.D., pulmonary fellow, University of Oklahoma Medical Center, Oklahoma City; May 2007,Chest