People with heart failure who take statins may be at a reduced risk of cancer, researchers say today.
Previous experimental and clinical findings have indicated that statins may be chemoprotective, explain Dr Kai-Hang Yiu of the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues in the European Heart Journal.
This effect may take place via "diverse potential mechanisms", they write, including an effect on tumour development pathways, and the anti inflammatory and antioxidant properties of statins.
They examined the relationship between the use of statin and the risk of cancer and cancer-related mortality using a registry of 87,102 male and female patients with heart failure followed for about four years. During this time, 13% were diagnosed with cancer.
Statin use was linked to a 16% lower risk of cancer diagnosis, with greater protection associated with longer time on statins. Ten-year cancer-related mortality was 3.8% among statin users and 5.2% among nonusers.
"Our study suggests that statin use is associated with a significantly lower risk of incident cancer and cancer-related mortality in heart failure, an association that appears to be duration dependent," they conclude.
Dr Yiu said: “Heart failure is a growing disease globally and deaths due to other causes unrelated to the heart and blood vessels are of concern.
"Our findings should raise doctors’ awareness of the increasing cancer incidence among heart failure patients and encourage them to pay extra attention to non-cardiovascular-related outcomes.
"Moreover, our study highlights the relationship between heart failure and cancer development and provides important information regarding the possibility of reducing cancer incidence and related deaths by using statins in these patients."
Ren, Q-W, et al. Statin associated lower cancer risk and related mortality in patients with heart failure. 23 June 2021 European Heart Journal; doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab325
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