Statin use and risk of prostate cancer: A Danish population-based case-control study, 1997–2010

Purpose: Conflicting evidence has suggested that statins possess chemopreventive properties against prostate cancer (PCa). Therefore, we examined the association between statin use and risk of PCa in a Denmark-based case-control study. Materials and methods: We identified 42,480 patients diagnosed with incident PCa during 1997–2010 from a national cancer registry. Five age-matched population controls (n = 212,400) were selected for each case using risk-set sampling. Statin use from 1996 to the index date was obtained from the National Prescription Registry. Odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for age, comorbidity, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and educational level for PCa associated with statin use, were computed using conditional logistic regression. Analyses were stratified by duration of statin use (0–1, 2–4, 5–9, or ≥10 years), stage of PCa (localized or advanced), and type of statin used (lipophilic or hydrophilic). Results: In total, 7915 patients (19%) and 39,384 controls (19%) redeemed statin prescriptions prior to the index date. Overall, statin users had a 6% lower risk of PCa compared with non-users [adjusted OR (ORa), 0.94; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91–0.97]. Risk estimates did not differ substantially by duration or type of statin used. Slightly larger statin use-associated risk reductions were observed for advanced PCa (ORa, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.85–0.96) and with statin use ≥10 years (ORa, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65–0.95). Conclusion: Statin use was associated with a risk reduction overall (6%) and, specifically with advanced PCa (10%). Differences in diagnostic measures and residual confounding by socioeconomic parameters may have influenced our results.