Statins linked to improved survival in inflammatory breast cancer

Source：University of Texas M. D. Anders Release Date：2012-12-12 225

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Early study results show benefits from the commonly used drug to lower cholesterol in most dangerous form of disease

HOUSTON — Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found statins, the commonly used drug to lower cholesterol, improved progression-free survival in patients with C (IBC).

The retrospective study was presented in a poster discussion at the 2012 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on 6^th December, and follows a previously reported Danish study indicating there is some evidence to suggest the anti-inflammatory properties of statins could reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Still, the overall effects of statins have not been examined in relation to IBC.

IBC is a rare type of breast cancer that develops quickly when malignant cells block lymph vessels in the skin and soft tissue. It accounts for only 1-5 percent of all invasive breast cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.

"We decided to take a different approach with the smaller population of inflammatory breast cancer patients and see if it's truly an inflammatory disease, whether or not there's some substantial impact of statin use in this population," said Naoto T. Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., professor in MD Anderson's Department of Breast Medical Oncology and executive director of the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and Clinic.

Dr Ueno, the corresponding author, and his colleagues reviewed 724 patients diagnosed and treated for stage III inflammatory breast cancer at MD Anderson between 1995 and 2011. Patients with records indicating statin use at the time of diagnosis were compared to those who were not taking statins. In total, the stage III group contained 74 statin users and 650 non-users.

The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS), while secondary end-points measured overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).

Additionally, researchers compared the clinical outcomes of those in the statin group based on the type of statin, lipophilic (fat-soluble) or hydrophilic (water-soluble), an important distinction as differences in survival emerged throughout the trial. The authors note patients who used both drug categories, or patientsSuperStar Boost SB Shoes