Associations between statin use and risk of non‐Hodgkin lymphomas by subtype

Abstract

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are a group of cancers with highly heterogeneous biology and clinical features. Statins are increasingly prescribed to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Early evidence shows a preventive effect of statins for some cancers, but their effect on NHL risk is unclear. We conducted a population-based nested case-control study involving 5,541 NHL cases and 27,315 controls matched for gender, age, place of residence and length of period of available prescription drug data. We assessed the use of statins prior to diagnosis (excluding the 12 months prior to the index date). We used conditional logistic regression models to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for use of any statin, adjusting for medical conditions, number of family physician visits for 5 years prior to index date, healthcare utilization, income and use of other medications. Over one-quarter of cases and controls were prescribed statins. Ever-use of any statin was associated with lower risk of Total NHL (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.76-0.89) and of certain subtypes including diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL, OR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.65-0.92), plasma cell neoplasms (PCN, OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.63-0.91) and other B-cell NHL (0.75, 0.59-0.95). Analysis by statin type suggested that the association was limited to high potency statin and lipophilic statin users. No clear duration or dose-response relationships were observed. Our findings provide evidence that statin use can reduce the risk of DLBCL and plasma cell lymphomas, but not other NHL types. Further studies are warranted to verify these associations and to examine the biological mechanisms.

Statin Use and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Incidence: A Nested Case–Control Study in Manitoba, Canada

“…They were further limited by reliance on questionnaires for measuring statin use; by lack of information about dose, duration and timing of use; and by grouping all statins regardless of their chemical or pharmacokinetic properties. We recently studied the effects of statins, as a class, on the incidence of several NHL subtypes, including CLL, and estimated an odds ratio (OR) of 0.89 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.77-1.04) for CLL (18). In this article, we report on the association between CLL and use of several commonly used statins with different chemical structures, pharmacodynamics, and lipid-lowering effects.…”

Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs, statins and risk of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma

“…In secondary analysis, the association appeared to be restricted to high potency statin and lipophilic statins. 23 Our study could not address the type of statin used. Furthermore, we did not find any associations with other cholesterol lowering drugs.…”

A Patient With Focal Myositis and Primary Cutaneous Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report

“…Interestingly, Ye et al. showed that statin intake may reduce the risk of diffuse large B cell lymphoma ( 13 ). Though statins may play a role in cancer prevention through cholesterol and cholesterol independent pathways ( 14 – 16 ), statins may induce myositis in rare situations, and inflammation is one of the cancer-causing factors ( 17 , 18 ).…”