Statins may reduce risk of progression of renal cancer

(HealthDay)—Use of statins is associated with a reduced risk of progression of localized renal cell carcinoma, according to research published in the April issue of The Journal of Urology.

In an effort to assess the effect of statin medications on the progression of the neoplasm, Robert J. Hamilton, M.D., M.P.H., of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues analyzed data for 2,608 patients receiving surgical treatment for localized renal cell carcinoma.

The researchers found that 27 percent of the patients undergoing surgery for localized renal cell carcinoma were statin users. At a median follow-up of 36 months, statin use was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of progression of localized renal cell carcinoma following surgery (hazard ratio [HR], 0.67; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.47 to 0.96; P = 0.028) and a nonsignificant reduction in overall mortality (HR, 0.89; 95 percent CI, 0.71 to 1.13; P = 0.3). When statin use was modeled as a time-dependent covariate, the reduction in risk of progression of disease was decreased (HR, 0.77; P = 0.12) and the reduction in risk of overall mortality was increased (HR, 0.71; P = 0.002).

"This is the first study to directly examine the association between statin use at surgery and progression to metastasis or renal cell carcinoma death," the authors write.