In a new study, researchers found that people with colon cancer who use statin drugs have a lower risk of premature death.
The research was conducted by a team from Zhejiang University, China.
Statins are low-costed and wildly-used drugs for lowering blood cholesterol levels. It can help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
In the study, the team conducted a review of 14 previously published studies. Data of 130,994 patients with colon cancer were examined.
The researchers found that use of statins before or after a diagnosis of colon cancer was linked to a lower risk of premature death, both from cancer and from other causes.
Colon cancer patients who took statins before their diagnosis had a 15% lower risk of dying early from any cause. They also had an 18% lower risk of dying from cancer.
Colon cancer patients who took statins after their diagnosis had a 14% lower risk of dying early from any cause. They also had a 21% lower risk of dying from cancer.
The findings suggest that statins could benefit people with colon cancer.
The team suggests that the benefits of statins could be attributed to both its cancer‐prevention effects and its potential role in cancer adjuvant therapy.
Previous research has shown that statin uses were linked to less colon polyp number and smaller polyp size.
It also has shown that men cancer patients who took statins after the diagnosis had a less advanced tumor stage, a lower frequency of distant metastases, and a higher survival rate.
The researchers believe that their new findings provide new insights into developing better treatment of colon cancer.
The lead author of the study is Yue Li from Zhejiang University
The study is published in Cancer Medicine.
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