ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Urology and Nephrology 2024 February;76(1):74-80

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-6051.23.05454-X

Copyright © 2023 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Statins may increase the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer

Aldo BRASSETTI ¹, Francesco TEDESCO ² ✉, Loris CACCIATORE ², Francesco PRATA ², Alberto RAGUSA ², Andrea IANNUZZI ², Riccardo LOMBARDO ³, Giorgia TEMA ³, Antonio CICIONE ³, Andrea TUBARO ³, Giuseppe SIMONE ¹, Cosimo DE NUNZIO ³

¹ Department of Urology, IRCCS "Regina Elena" National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy; ² Department of Urology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy; ³ Department of Urology, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy

BACKGROUND: Although statins are known to protect against cardiovascular accidents, their anti-inflammatory features could play a role in preventing tumorigenesis. We investigated the association between statin intake and prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and aggressiveness.
METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed. Our dataset on patients undergone systematic prostate biopsy from December 2008 to December 2022 was searched for histopathologic and clinical data. Prognostic Grade Group ≥3 tumors were defined as high-grade (HG). The association between Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), statin use and PCa diagnosis and HG disease was assessed using logistic regression analyses.
RESULTS: Data on 1685 patients were collected; MetS affected 344 (20.4%) men and 138 (36.5%) were taking statins at least for 6 months at the time of biopsy. Among the 671 (39.8%) men diagnosed with PCa, 327 (48.7%) presented with a HG disease. Tumor incidence was higher among men taking statins, compared to controls (46.8% vs. 37.8%; P=0.002); also, high grade diseases were more common in the former group, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (49.1% vs. 48.6%; P=0.89). Statin intake (OR 1.44; 95% CI [1.05-1.98]; P=0.02) independently predicted PCa diagnosis but not high-grade disease (P=0.8).
CONCLUSIONS: Statin use may be associated with an increased risk of PCa diagnosis.

KEY WORDS: Statins; Prostatic neoplasms; Inflammation; Metabolic syndrome