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World J Gastroenterol. Feb 21, 2014; 20(7): 1858-1870
Published online Feb 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1858
Published online Feb 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1858
Statins and the risk of colorectal cancer: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 40 studies
Theodore Lytras, Department of Occupational and Industrial Hygiene, National School of Public Health, 11521 Athens, Greece
Georgios Nikolopoulos, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York, NY 10010, United States
Georgios Nikolopoulos, Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 15123 Athens, Greece
Stefanos Bonovas, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Stefanos Bonovas, Laboratory of Drug Regulatory Policies, IRCCS Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research, 20156 Milan, Italy
Author contributions: Lytras T and Bonovas S designed the research; Lytras T and Bonovas S collected the data; Lytras T, Nikolopoulos G and Bonovas S analyzed and interpreted the data; Lytras T drafted the article; Lytras T, Nikolopoulos G and Bonovas S critically revised the article for important intellectual content and gave approval to be published; Bonovas S supervised the study.
Correspondence to: Theodore Lytras, MD, MPH, Department of Occupational and Industrial Hygiene, National School of Public Health, 196 Alexandras Ave., 11521 Athens, Greece. thlytras@gmail.com
Telephone: +30-694-6814271 Fax: +30-210-6412059
Received: September 30, 2013
Revised: November 13, 2013
Accepted: January 6, 2014
Published online: February 21, 2014
Revised: November 13, 2013
Accepted: January 6, 2014
Published online: February 21, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: To investigate the association between statin use and colorectal cancer risk, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies. A total of 40 studies, involving more than eight million subjects, contributed to our analysis. A modest reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer with statin use was observed, which was not statistically significant among RCTs (RR = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.74-1.07; n = 8), but reached statistical significance among cohort studies (RR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.83-1.00; n = 13) and case-control studies (RR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.87-0.98; n = 19). Further targeted research is warranted.