Statins and the Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Statins are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and effective lipid-lowering agents. Statins inhibit the growth of colon-cancer cell lines, and secondary analyses of some, but not all, clinical trials suggest that they reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

The Molecular Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer study is a population-based case-control study of patients who received a diagnosis of colorectal cancer in northern Israel between 1998 and 2004 and controls matched according to age, sex, clinic, and ethnic group. We used a structured interview to determine the use of statins in the two groups and verified self-reported statin use by examining prescription records in a subgroup of patients for whom prescription records were available.