title: Lack of effect of lowering LDL cholesterol on cancer: meta-analysis of individual data from 175,000 people in 27 randomised trials of statin therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Statin therapy reduces the risk of occlusive vascular events, but uncertainty remains about potential effects on cancer. We sought to provide a detailed assessment of any effects on cancer of lowering LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) with a statin using individual patient records from 175,000 patients in 27 large-scale statin trials.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individual records of 134,537 participants in 22 randomised trials of statin versus control (median duration 4.8 years) and 39,612 participants in 5 trials of more intensive versus less intensive statin therapy (median duration 5.1 years) were obtained. Reducing LDL-C with a statin for about 5 years had no effect on newly diagnosed cancer or on death from such cancers in either the trials of statin versus control (cancer incidence: 3755 [1.4% per year [py]] versus 3738 [1.4% py], RR 1.00 [95% CI 0.96-1.05]; cancer mortality: 1365 [0.5% py] versus 1358 [0.5% py], RR 1.00 [95% CI 0.93-1.08]) or in the trials of more versus less statin (cancer incidence: 1466 [1.6% py] vs 1472 [1.6% py], RR 1.00 [95% CI 0.93-1.07]; cancer mortality: 447 [0.5% py] versus 481 [0.5% py], RR 0.93 [95% CI 0.82-1.06]). Moreover, there was no evidence of any effect of reducing LDL-C with statin therapy on cancer incidence or mortality at any of 23 individual categories of sites, with increasing years of treatment, for any individual statin, or in any given subgroup. In particular, among individuals with low baseline LDL-C (<2 mmol/L), there was no evidence that further LDL-C reduction (from about 1.7 to 1.3 mmol/L) increased cancer risk (381 [1.6% py] versus 408 [1.7% py]; RR 0.92 [99% CI 0.76-1.10]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In 27 randomised trials, a median of five years of statin therapy had no effect on the incidence of, or mortality from, any type of cancer (or the aggregate of all cancer).
authors.forename: Jonathan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Emberson
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Kearney
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reith
authors.forename: Neeraj
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhala
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peto
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keech
authors.forename: Rory
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simes
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baigent
mesh_terms: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000924:Anticholesteremic Agents; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors