Statin Use and Risk of Skin Cancer

Publication date: Available online 5 December 2017
Source:Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Author(s): Brian M. Lin, Wen-Qing Li, Eunyoung Cho, Gary C. Curhan, Abrar A. Qureshi
BackgroundStatins are among the most commonly used medications in the United States, and statin use is associated with increased risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, previous studies are limited by lack of adjustment for important confounders.ObjectiveExamine the relation between statins and skin cancer risk in the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study.MethodsCox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate associations.ResultsDuring follow-up (2000-2010), we documented 10,201 BCC, 1,393 SCC, and 333 melanoma cases. History of high cholesterol was not associated with risk of BCC (pooled multivariable-adjusted Hazard ratio (HR)=1.04 [1.00, 1.09], SCC (HR=0.95 [0.85, 1.06]), or melanoma (HR=0.87 [0.64, 1.19]). Statin use was not associated with risk of BCC (HR=1.04 [0.99, 1.09]), SCC (HR=1.08 [0.94, 1.24]), or melanoma (HR=1.04 [0.78, 1.38]). There was a trend towards higher BCC risk with longer duration of statin use in men (P-trend=0.003), but not in women (P-trend=0.86).LimitationsLack of treatment data.ConclusionHistory of high cholesterol was not associated with skin cancer risk. Longer duration of statin use was associated with a trend towards higher BCC risk in men.

Teaser

Previous studies demonstrated higher keratinocyte carcinoma risk with statin use, but lacked adjustment for important confounders.In this study, longer duration of statin use was associated with higher basal cell carcinoma risk in men only.The relation between statins and skin cancer risk may differ by sex.