Are Non-Statin Cholesterol-Lowering Medications Linked to Liver Cancer? Study Sheds light

Primary liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Major risk factors for liver cancer include chronic infections with hepatitis B or C viruses, exposure to aflatoxins, heavy alcohol use, tobacco use, and metabolic disorders like non- alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Since liver cancer often has a poor prognosis, finding ways to prevent it, including using certain medications, is very important for public health. Recently, there has been a lot of research into how medications like aspirin, metformin, and statins might help reduce the risk of liver cancer.

Cholesterol absorption inhibitors, bile acid sequestrants, fibrates, niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids are types of non-statin medications used to manage cholesterol and lipid levels. Each type works differently to help lower cholesterol.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute studied these five types of non-statin cholesterol-lowering drugs to see if they were linked to liver cancer risk.

Previous research has suggested that statin cholesterol-lowering drugs may reduce the risk of liver cancer. A new study, however, investigated non-statin cholesterol-lowering medications and found that one type was associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer. The findings have been published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, by Wiley Online.

In the study, researchers used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and analysed 3,719 liver cancer cases, comparing them with 14,876 people without cancer and matching them also based on type 2 diabetes and chronic liver disease.

The study found that using cholesterol absorption inhibitors was linked to a 31% lower risk of liver cancer overall. This was also true for people with diabetes and liver disease. Statins were associated with a 35% lower risk of liver cancer.

However, no connection was found between liver cancer risk and the use of fibrates, omega-3 fatty acids, or niacin. While bile acid sequestrants were linked to a higher risk of liver cancer in the overall analysis, the results were inconsistent when considering diabetes and liver disease, indicating the need for further research.

Reference: Shahriar A. Zamani PhD, Barry I. Graubard PhD, Marianne Hyer MS, Emily Carver BS, Jessica L. Petrick PhD, MPH, Katherine A. McGlynn PhD, MPH; Use of cholesterol-lowering medications in relation to risk of primary liver cancer in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink; CANCER; https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.35436