Statins may prevent pancreatic cancer in Asians

In a Japanese population, exposure to statins appears to confer a protective effect on the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, as reported in a study.

The study used data from a comprehensive patient-linked, longitudinal health insurance database, which consisted of 2,230,848 individuals residing in Shizuoka Prefecture. Researchers used inverse probability of treatment propensity score weighting method and included individuals aged >40 years with data for medical examinations and statin exposure (≥365 statin prescription days).

The final population comprised 100,537 in the statin exposure group (24 percent) and 326,033 in the statin nonexposure group (76 percent). Pancreatic cancer occurred in 394 individuals in the statin exposure group over 352,485 person-years and in 1,176 individuals in the nonexposure group over 1,098,463 person-years.

The incidence rates of pancreatic cancer were 1.12 per 1,000 person-years in the exposed group and 1.07 per 1,000 person-years in the nonexposed group (p=0.464).

Despite adjustments using inverse probability of treatment weighting, statin exposure was associated with a 16-percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer (hazard ratio, 0.84, 95 percent confidence interval, 0.72–0.99; p=0.036).

Preclinical studies have shown that the use of statins may help lower the incidence of pancreatic cancer. The findings of the present study support the possible role of the drugs in preventing pancreatic cancer in the general population in Japan.