title: Association between statin use and colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 42 studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a long-standing debate about whether statins have chemopreventive properties against colorectal cancer (CRC), but the results remain inconclusive. We therefore present a meta-analysis to investigate the association between statin use and risk of CRC.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive literature search was undertaken through July 2013 looking for eligible studies. Pooled relative risk (RR) estimates and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate estimated effect.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-two studies [18 case-control studies, 13 cohort studies, and 11 randomized controlled trials (RCTs)] were included in this analysis. Overall, statin use was associated with a modest reduction in the risk of CRC (RR = 0.90, 95 % CI 0.86-0.95). When the analyses were stratified into subgroups, a significant decreased association of CRC risk was observed in observational studies (RR = 0.89, 95 % CI 0.84-0.95), rectal cancer (RR = 0.81, 95 % CI 0.66-0.99), and lipophilic statin (RR = 0.88, 95 % CI 0.85-0.93), but not in RCTs (RR = 0.96, 95 % CI 0.85-1.08), colon cancer, and hydrophilic statin. However, long-term statin use (≥5 years) did not significantly affect the risk of CRC (RR = 0.96, 95 % CI 0.90-1.03). Cumulative meta-analysis showed that statin use significantly reduces the risk of CRC, which has been available between 2007 and 2013.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that statin use is associated with a modest reduced risk of CRC; apparent associations were found for lipophilic statin use. However, long-term statin use did not appear to significantly affect the risk of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
authors.forename: Yanqiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Weizhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Taijie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Qiliu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors