In a new study, researchers found statin drugs, used for decades to treat high cholesterol, may also reduce deaths for women with ovarian cancer.
They say these drugs are appealing as they are widely used, inexpensive, and well-tolerated in most patients. The associated reduction in ovarian cancer mortality is promising.
The research was conducted by a team at Johns Hopkins.
Drugs to combat ovarian cancer are sorely needed, given its reputation as a “silent killer.”
That’s because there are no proven screening strategies” to catch ovarian tumors early. So the disease is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage when surgery is often not an option.
In the study, the team collected data on more than 10,000 women with ovarian cancer who were part of a Finnish national cancer registry.
Among these women, more than 2,600 had used a statin, and 80% used so-called lipophilic statins, such as simvastatin and lovastatin—a form of the drug that dissolves within fats.
The team found using of any type of statin was linked with a 40% lower death rate, compared with women not using statins.
The use of lipophilic statins, specifically, was tied to a 43% risk of dying from ovarian cancer.
The most strong reductions in death after using statins were among women with specific subtypes of ovarian cancer—high-grade serous carcinoma (a 40% reduction) and endometrioid ovarian cancer (50% reduction).
Even women who started using lipophilic statins after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer had lower odds of dying.
The results of the study provide further evidence in support of the clinical evaluation of lipophilic statins as part of the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Still, the results need to be confirmed in clinical trials and other populations before becoming part of standard practice.
One author of the study is Dr. Kala Visvanathan, a professor of epidemiology and oncology.
The study was presented at an online meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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