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| |  Statins May Have Protective Effects in Patients With Diabetes BETHESDA, Md -- May 5, 2009 -- Statins may have a protective effect in the prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with diabetes and lead to a reduction in the need for gallbladder removals in women with diabetes, according to 2 studies published in the journal Gastroenterology. In the first study, statin use was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with diabetes. "Our study provides the first indication of a cancer preventive effect for statins specific to HCC," said lead author Hashem B. El-Serag, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. "While these findings need to be confirmed in future studies, we are hopeful that further research continues to show the beneficial effect of statins for liver cancer prevention in patients with diabetes." Researchers undertook an epidemiological study in a large cohort of patients with diabetes, whose risk of HCC was higher than average, to characterise the relationship between statin use and HCC and other liver disease. The team examined 1,303 cases and 5,212 controls (mean age, 72 years; 99% male). A significantly smaller proportion of cases (34.3%) had at least 1 filled prescription for statins than controls (53.1%). The research team found a significant inverse association between having statin prescriptions filled and the risk of developing HCC. There was a trend toward stronger risk reduction with longer and more frequent statin prescriptions. The risk reduction observed with statins ranged between 25% and 40%. Reduced HCC risk was similar regardless of which statin was dispensed. The second study showed that the use of statins appears to reduce the risk of cholecystectomy in women. Researchers examined the relationship between statin use and the risk of cholecystectomy in a cohort of US women participating in the prospective Nurses' Health Study. Participants biennially reported their health history, including incidence of gallstone disease and whether they had undergone cholecystectomy. Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of statin use through data collected in 2000 to define use from 1994 forward, and a prospective analysis for general lipid-lowering drugs from 1994 to 2004. In the statin analysis, the researchers ascertained 2,479 cases of cholecystectomy during 305,197 person-years of follow-up. The multivariate relative risk for current statin users, compared with nonusers, was 18%. In the analysis of general cholesterol-lowering drugs, researchers ascertained 3,420 cases of cholecystectomy during 511,411 person-years of follow-up. Compared with nonusers, the multivariate relative risk for current users of general cholesterol-lowering drugs, mostly statins in this cohort, was 12%. Among patients with diabetes women, duration of current statin use was correlated with risk of cholecystectomy. Compared with statin nonuse, the relative risk for current statin use of 2 or more years was 75%. "Further study, particularly among diabetics, is warranted to evaluate the associations of longer durations of statin use and specific types of statins with risk," said lead author Chung-Jyi Tsai, MD, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky. "Our results should have implications for additional clinical, epidemiological, and mechanistic research." SOURCE: American Gastroenterological Association
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