Background Few studies have investigated the cancer-preventive effects of statins, which are known to protect against cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. In this study, we analyzed the degree to which pravastatin, a low-potency statin, could prevent cancer.
Methods This retrospective cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. Patients diagnosed with diabetes after the age of 50 years were divided into a pravastatin group and a control group that did not receive any statin prescriptions.
Results This study included 557 patients in the pravastatin group and 2,221 patients in the control (no statin) group. During the 5-year follow-up, the incidence of cancer was 16.7% (93 of 557 patients) in the pravastatin group and 19.9% (442 of 2,221 patients) in the control group. The incidence of cancer was 22% higher in the control group than in the pravastatin group (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 0.97–1.52; P=0.09). Death from various causes occurred at a 45% higher frequency in the control group than in the pravastatin group (hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.99–2.12; P=0.06). However, neither of those relationships reached statistical significance.
Conclusions Although pravastatin use did not show a significant causal relationship with cancer incidence, fewer cases of cancer occurred in pravastatin users than in controls. However, further large-scale studies are required to confirm these findings.
Statins are one of the most widely used drugs worldwide as first-line drugs for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Most of the side effects of statins are known to be mild, and mainly hepatotoxicity and various muscle symptoms are known. Recently, there have been studies on concerns about an increase in the incidence of diabetes after using statins, but it was found that the benefits sufficiently outweigh the risk of side effects. Therefore, the use of statins in the appropriate group should be actively performed, and it seems that the side effects can be prevented through close physical observation and appropriate examination.
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Background We investigated the changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) target achievement rates (<70 and <100 mg/dL) when the prescription changed from various statins to Lipilou®, a generic formulation of atorvastatin.
Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who had been prescribed Lipilou® for more than 3 months at Seoul National University Hospital from 2012 to 2018. For patients who were treated with a previous statin before the prescription of Lipilou®, changes in target achievement rates of LDL-C less than 70 and less than 100 mg/dL were confirmed 3–6 months after the prescription of Lipilou®.
Results Among the 683 enrolled patients, when their prescription was changed to Lipilou®, the target achievement rate of LDL-C significantly increased for LDL-C less than 70 mg/dL (from 22.1% to 66.2%, p<0.001) and less than 100 mg/dL (from 26.8% to 75.3%, p<0.001). In particular, when a moderate-low potency statin was changed to Lipilou® (10 mg), the target achievement rates for LDL-C less than 70 mg/dL (from 28.9% to 66.7%, p<0.001) and less than 100 mg/dL (from 42.2% to 86.7%, p<0.001) significantly increased. The change from a moderate-high potency statin to Lipilou® (20 mg) showed an increased target achievement rates for LDL-C <70 mg/dL (from 33.3% to 80.0%, p=0.008) and 100 mg/dL (from 40.0% to 73.3%, p<0.025).
Conclusions We cannot simply conclude that Lipilou® is superior to other statins. However, when the target LDL-C was not reached with previous statin treatments, a high target achievement rate could be achieved by changing the prescription to Lipilou®. Physicians should always consider aggressive statin prescription changes for high target achievement rates.
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