Lipophilic Statins Linked to Reduced HCC Risk

A nationwide Swedish prospective propensity score–matched cohort study suggests that lipophilic statins were associated with significantly reduced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence and mortality. The study included 16 668 adults (8334 who initiated statin use [6554 lipophilic and 1780 hydrophilic] and 8334 nonusers) among 63 279 eligible adults with chronic hepatitis B or C. Compared with matched nonusers, 10-year HCC risk was significantly lower among lipophilic statin users (8.1% vs. 3.3%; adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio [aHR], 0.56) but not hydrophilic statin users (8.0% vs. 6.8%; aHR, 0.95). The inverse association between lipophilic statins and HCC risk seemed to be dose-dependent. Compared with nonusers, 10-year HCC risk was lowest with 600 or more lipophilic statin cumulative defined daily doses (8.4% vs. 2.5%; aHR, 0.41), and 10-year mortality was significantly lower among both lipophilic (15.2% vs. 7.3%) and hydrophilic (16.0% vs. 11.5%) statin users. The findings are consistent with preclinical studies. Source: https://annals.org/