Statins may help prevent certain cancers

Demery's research is based on two claims: that there is a mechanism that leads to chronic inflammation that causes cancer, and that pitavastatin inhibits this mechanism.

The research team identified a specific immune system signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor (TLR)3/4-TBK1-IRF3, that is associated with chronic inflammation.

In healthy people, one function of this pathway is to induce the production of a protein called interleukin-33 (IL-33), which is part of the body's immune system response. IL-33 signals the body to produce other immune system cells when injury or infection occurs.

However, overproduction of IL-33 can lead to chronic inflammation, which persists in the body longer than an immune system response is needed. It causes a variety of symptoms that adversely affect health.

Researchers knew that by inhibiting this pathway, they could block a major cause of chronic inflammation.

The researchers then began testing a series of FDA-approved drugs in both mice and in the test-tube model to see if any would help. Among the drugs they tested, they found that pitavastatin was effective at inhibiting the signaling pathway.

“What we've found is a very potent inhibitor of this pathway, so if you're studying cancer in the context of chronic inflammation where this pathway is very active, inhibiting this pathway is a major advantage,” Demery said.

To confirm their findings, the researchers also included observational studies that looked at pancreatic cancer outcomes in patients who were prescribed pitavastatin and in a control group who were not.

Patients taking pitavastatin had a significant reduction in the risk of both chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

“Statins reduce inflammation, which is related to their cholesterol-lowering effect. Reducing your cholesterol load also reduces inflammation. But it seems like statins reduce inflammation in some way, separate from their cholesterol-lowering effect.” Matthew Feinstein, MD “The study is a step toward establishing a safe and effective treatment for heart disease,” said Dr. Feinstein, an associate professor of cardiology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study.

Feinstein is an expert in the field of inflammation and heart disease and recently published the following editorial: Statins and inflammation.

He told Healthline that while there has been a lot of interest in the anti-inflammatory effects of statins, especially as they relate to cancer, it's difficult to draw firm conclusions.

“Overall, there is a lot of debate about whether statins are beneficial or harmful in cancer treatment. They may have some effect in certain subsets of cancers, but this is far from being proven on a large scale in humans,” he said.

Observational studies have shown that Statin users have lower breast cancer ratesIn other studies, statins Reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

But none of these associations have been rigorously confirmed in clinical trials, and the mechanism by which statins affect cancer outcomes is unclear — in Demery's study, it appears to be due to their anti-inflammatory effects, but that may not be the case in other cancers.

Feinstein is cautiously optimistic about the study, but cautions that it's too early to know whether statins' promise in cancer prevention will be realized.

“I think the general inflammation-reducing properties are pretty well documented systemically. But there are a lot of questions remaining about whether this actually has an effect in chemotherapy prevention,” he said.

Researchers believe that statins may play a role in preventing certain types of cancer that are associated with chronic inflammation.

Statins are widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs with demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties.

Despite the promising findings, the research is still in its very early stages and needs to undergo human trials to be validated.