Investigators examined whether nonstatin cholesterol-lowering drugs may affect the risk of hepatic cancer, according to a recent study published by Zamani et al in Cancer.
Background
Hepatic cancer is the sixth most common cancer type across the world and the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Prior research has indicated that receiving cholesterol-lowering statins may decrease a patient’s risk of developing hepatic cancer. Nonstatin cholesterol-lowering drugs are often prescribed to manage cholesterol and lipid levels.
Study Methods and Results
In the recent study, the investigators used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to assess the associations between five types of nonstatin cholesterol-lowering drugs—including cholesterol absorption inhibitors, bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids—and the risk of hepatic cancer in 3,719 patients with hepatic cancer and 14,876 matched controls. Additional matches were also made based on patients’ type 2 diabetes and chronic liver disease status.
The investigators discovered that the use of cholesterol absorption inhibitors was associated with a 31% lower risk of hepatic cancer in the overall analysis. These drugs were also linked with a lower risk of hepatic cancer in analyses based on type 2 diabetes and liver disease status. The investigators confirmed that statins were associated with a 35% decreased risk of hepatic cancer.
They observed no correlations between the use of fibrates, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids and the risk of hepatic cancer. Although bile acid sequestrant use was linked to a higher risk of hepatic cancer in the overall analysis, the results of analyses based on type 2 diabetes and liver disease status were inconsistent, suggesting that replication of these observations may be critical.
Conclusions
“As few studies have examined the effects of nonstatin cholesterol-lowering drugs on [hepatic] cancer risk, the results of our study require replication in other populations. If our findings are confirmed in other studies, however, our results may inform [hepatic] cancer prevention research,” concluded senior study author Katherine A. McGlynn, PhD, MPH, of the National Cancer Institute.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
