New research published in eClinicalMedicine suggests that statins might protect patients with ulcerative colitis from developing and dying from colorectal cancer. The study, by Karolinska Insitut researchers, also found that statin treatment was associated with a lower risk of death regardless of cause in patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
First author Jiangwei Sun notes that previous studies have shown that the risk of colorectal cancer in patients with IBD, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, is 50% higher than in the general population. This is likely to be because of the chronic gut inflammation that these patients have. Researchers have long sought drugs that can reduce the inflammation-related cancer risk.
“Even though more studies are needed to confirm our results, our study suggests that statins can prevent colorectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is a high-risk group for this kind of cancer,” says Dr Sun.
The observational study conducted by Dr Sun and his colleagues compared over 10 500 IBD patients from around the country, of whom half were statin users; the other half of the group, who were matched with the first, were not. After a follow-up period of, on average, 5.6 years, 70 of the statin group and 90 of the non-statin group had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The effect increased over time
The protective effect was directly proportional to the length of time the patient had been on statins and could be demonstrated after two years’ treatment.
There were also fewer deaths from colorectal cancer in the statin group (20) than in the non-statin group (37) during the study period, and deaths regardless of cause (529 versus 719).
The study shows that some 200 IBD patients need to be treated with statins to avoid one case of colorectal cancer or death from the cancer within ten years of treatment onset. The protective effect was only statistically valid for patients with ulcerative colitis.
“We think this is because the study contained fewer patients with Crohn’s disease,” explains Dr Sun. “More and larger studies compiling data from patient populations in many countries will probably be needed to achieve statistical significance for Crohn’s disease.”
Significantly fewer deaths
To avoid death regardless of cause during the same ten-year period, the number of treated patients dropped to 20, on account of how statins also protect against more common conditions, such as cardiovascular disease. Statins were linked to fewer deaths in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients.
The study was based on the ESPRESSO-cohort, which is run by its initiative-taker Jonas F Ludvigsson, paediatrician at Örebro University Hospital and professor at Karolinska Institutet, and the study’s last author.
“In that we can combine tissue data from patients with colorectal cancer with data from Swedish health registries, we’re uniquely placed to study the long-term effects of drugs for IBD,” he says. “Our hope is that these studies will improve the care of IBD patients.”
The most solid evidence so far
According to the researchers, the new results provide the most solid evidence so far that statins could be an effective prophylactic for colorectal cancer among people with IBD. However, more knowledge must be gathered before the treatment can be recommended in general guidelines.
“More studies are needed to ascertain if there is a causal relationship, at what point of the pathological process statins should be administered, what a reasonable dose would be and how long treatment needs to last if it’s to be of benefit,” says Dr Sun.
Source: Karolinska Institut
