No link found for metformin or statins and ovarian cancer

(HealthDay)—In women with type 2 diabetes, no evidence was found of an association between the use of metformin or statins and the incidence of ovarian cancer, according to a study published online Feb. 7 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Elina Urpilainen, from the University of Oulu in Finland, and colleagues used national registers to identify 137,643 women (>40 years old) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in Finland from 1996 through 2011.

The researchers found that 303 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the follow-up period. Metformin was not associated with the incidence of ovarian cancer (hazard ratio, 1.02) compared to other oral antidiabetic medications. There was also no association noted between ovarian cancer incidence and statins (hazard ratio, 0.99).

"No evidence of an association between the use of metformin or statins and the incidence of ovarian cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes was found," the authors write.