Statins associated with an 88% increased risk of recurrence of bladder cancer

This study was published in BMC Cancer 2015 Mar 13;15:120

 

Study title and authors:

Can daily intake of aspirin and/or statins influence the behavior of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer? A retrospective study on a cohort of patients undergoing transurethral bladder resection.

Pastore A, Palleschi G, Fuschi A, Silvestri L, Al Salhi Y, Costantini E, Zucchi A, Petrozza V, de Nunzio C, Carbone A.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25877676

Transurethral  bladder resection is a surgical procedure that is used both to diagnose bladder cancer and to remove cancerous tissue from the bladder.

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between  non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and statins or aspirin in patients submitted to transurethral bladder resection. The study, (which included 574 patients diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer), was divided into two main groups: treated (aspirin and/or statins) and untreated.

Regarding statins, the study found that patients who took statins had a 88% increased risk of recurrence of bladder cancer compared to patients who did not take statins. 

Long-term statin users have a 21% increased risk of bladder cancer compared to non-users

This paper was published in Cancer Causes and Control 2013 Apr;24(4):769-76

 

Study title and authors:

Statin use and risk of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis.

Zhang XL, Geng J, Zhang XP, Peng B, Che JP, Yan Y, Wang GC, Xia SQ, Wu Y, Zheng JH.

Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, 301 Yanchang Road, Shanghai, 200072, People's Republic of China.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23361339

This paper analysed the scientific data between January 1966 and October 2012 to quantify the association between statin use and risk of bladder cancer. A total of 13 studies contributed to the analysis.

The paper found:
(a) Statin users had a 7% increased risk of bladder cancer compared to non-users.
(b) Long-term statin users had a 21% increased risk of bladder cancer compared to non-users.

The data from the analysis shows that statins users have more bladder cancer than non-users.

In patients undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, statins are significantly associated with an increased risk of tumor progression

This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine 2006 Dec 21;355(25):2705-7

 

Study title and authors:

Use of statins and outcome of BCG treatment for bladder cancer.

Hoffmann P, Roumeguère T, Schulman C, van Velthoven R.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17183004

This study investigated the association between statins and bladder cancer. The study, which lasted for 46 months, analyzed the clinical outcomes of 84 patients who had received the bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccine for the treatment of non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

The study found:
(a) In 53% of the patients who took statins, the tumor became more aggressive, whereas this change occurred in only 18% of the patients who did not take statins.
(b) 42% of the patients in the statin group had to undergo radical cystectomy, (radical cystectomy is the removal of the entire bladder, nearby lymph nodes, part of the urethra, and nearby organs that may contain cancer cells), as compared with only 14% of the patients who did not take statins.

In patients undergoing treatment for bladder cancer, the use of statins was significantly associated with an increased risk of tumor progression and a subsequent need for radical cystectomy.