title: Prospective analysis of association between use of statins and melanoma risk in the Women's Health Initiative.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, with an estimated 68,130 new cases and 8700 deaths in the United States in 2010. The increasing incidence and high death rate associated with metastatic disease support the need to focus on prevention. The authors used data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) to assess whether 3-hydroxy-3 methylglutaryl coenzyme A inhibitors (statins) are associated with a decreased risk of melanoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population consisted of 119,726 postmenopausal white women, in which 1099 cases of malignant melanoma were identified over an average (± standard deviation) of 11.6 ± 3.2 years. All diagnoses were confirmed by medical record review and pathology reports. Information on statin use was collected at baseline and during follow-up. Self-administered and interview-administered questionnaires were used to collect information on other risk factors. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Analyses investigated the association of any statin use, type, potency, lipophilic status, and duration of use with melanoma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statins were used by 8824 women (7.4%) at baseline. The annualized rate of melanoma was 0.09% among statin users and 0.09% among nonusers The multivariable adjusted HR for statin users compared with nonusers was 1.14 (95% CI, 0.91-1.43). There were no significant differences in risk based on statin type, potency, category, duration, or in time-dependent models.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no significant association between statin use and melanoma risk among postmenopausal women in the WHI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jagtap
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: Lisa W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pettinger
authors.forename: Janardan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Khandekar
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Ira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ockene
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015994:Incidence; D008545:Melanoma / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors