Statins are associated with a reduced risk of hepatocellular cancer

Statins are associated with a reduced risk of hepatocellular cancer, finds this month's issue of Gastroenterology.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide.

Several studies have shown that statins could have chemopreventive effects on Hepatocellular carcinoma .

Dr Siddharth Singh and colleagues performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that evaluated the effects of statins on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The researchers conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science through 2012 and manually reviewed the literature.

There were 10 studies reporting 4298 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma

Gastroenterology

The researchers included studies if they evaluated and clearly defined exposure to statins, reported the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, and reported relative risks or odds ratios or provided data for their estimation.

The team identified 10 studies reporting 4298 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma in 1,459,417 patients.

The research team found that statin users were less likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma than statin nonusers, although the results were heterogeneous.

The team noted that this heterogeneity could be accounted for by study location.

Dr Singh's team concluded, "Based on meta-analysis, statin use is associated with a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, most strongly in Asian but also in Western populations."

"Randomized clinical trials in populations at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma are warranted."