Statin use and the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers: a meta-analysis

• Main Authors: Yizi Wang, Fang Ren, Zixuan Song, Peng Chen, Shuang Liu, Ling Ouyang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019-07-01
• Series: BMC Cancer
• Subjects: Statin; Ovarian cancer; Endometrial cancer
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12885-019-5954-0

Abstract Background The relationship between statin use and the risk of ovarian or endometrial cancer remains controversial. Here, we investigated the relationship between statin use and the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers. Methods We conducted a meta-analysis using articles retrieved from the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. All original comparative studies published in English that were related to statin use and the risk of ovarian or endometrial cancer were included. Results This meta-analysis included 19 studies enrolling 1,999,362 female subjects and 19,849 cancer cases (7,948 ovarian cancer cases and 11,901 endometrial cancer cases). The overall analysis indicated that statin use did not significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer [relative risk (RR) = 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76–1.03, p = 0.12] or the risk of endometrial cancer (RR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78–1.00, p = 0.05.) Subgroup analyses based on study type, percentage of cancer cases, study location, and quality of studies also supported our conclusions. No association was found between long-term statin use (> 5 years) and the risk of ovarian cancer (RR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.51–1.04, p = 0.08) or endometrial cancer (RR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.58–1.08, p = 0.14). Conclusions Statin use did not lower the risk of ovarian cancer or endometrial cancer. The long-term use of statins (> 5 years) was not associated with a reduction in the risk of ovarian or endometrial cancer.