title: Statin Use and Breast Cancer Risk in the Nurses' Health Study.
abstract: Preclinical studies support an anticancer effect of statin drugs, yet epidemiologic evidence remains inconsistent regarding their role in breast cancer primary prevention. Here, we report an updated analysis of the association between statin use and breast cancer incidence in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) cohort. Postmenopausal NHS participants without a cancer history were followed from 2000 until 2012 (n = 79,518). Data on statin use were retrieved from biennial questionnaires. We fit Cox regression models to estimate associations between longitudinal statin use and breast cancer incidence. Over 823,086 person-years of follow-up, 3,055 cases of invasive breast cancer occurred. Compared with never users, both former and current statin users had similar rates of invasive breast cancer incidence [former users: HRadj, 0.96; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82-1.1; current users: HRadj, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.92-1.3]. Associations did not differ by estrogen receptor (ER) status or histology (ductal vs. lobular carcinoma). Statin use was not associated with risk of invasive breast cancer, irrespective of histologic subtype and ER status. Statin drugs do not appear to modify processes involved in breast cancer initiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Division of Oncology and Pathology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. signe.borgquist@med.lu.se.
authors.forename: Signe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borgquist
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Rulla M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Tamimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Wendy Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Judy E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.affiliation: Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: A Heather
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Eliassen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Surgery and Biochemistry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Ahern
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009726:Nurses; D017698:Postmenopause; D011379:Prognosis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; C508053:ERBB2 protein, human