Statins may help prevent cancer development: Study

A recent study published in Nature Communications suggested the statin drug, Pitavastatin, could help suppress chronic inflammation and prevent pancreatic cancer development. If future research confirms the findings, this drug could be a preventive measure in clinical practice.

Cancer prevention is a major field of research, and experts are continuing to learn more about what factors may contribute to cancer development. One area of interest is how chronic inflammation in certain areas of the body may contribute to cancer risk.

Statins are typically prescribed to help lower cholesterol levels in people whose “bad” cholesterol levels are too high. Statins can be used in combination with lifestyle changes to help keep cholesterol in a healthy range. For example, people may minimise their saturated fat intake and increase their physical activity levels.

In the study, researchers noted that interleukin 33 (IL-33) is a protein that helps initiate cancer-prone chronic inflammation. Utilizing mice, human tissue samples, and cell lines, they induced chronic inflammation in the skin and pancreas of mice.

They discovered that IL-33 was highly expressed in these inflamed areas. Further analysis revealed that inflammation activation triggered a specific signaling pathway which may cause the IL-33 expression seen in chronic inflammation.

Researchers then tested the use of pitavastatin to block IL-33 expression, finding that it may successfully inhibit IL-33 expression and related chronic pancreatitis.

Lastly, researchers looked at electronic health records from over 200 million people to look at the use of pitavastatin and the risk for pancreatic cancer and discovered that people taking pitavastatin were at a decreased risk for chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

“Approximately 15-20% of cancer deaths worldwide are linked to cancers arising from chronic inflammation. We aimed to identify what triggers chronic inflammation in various organs. Discovering that interleukin 33 (IL-33) drives this type of inflammation, we investigated the cellular mechanism behind its expression. Our study shows how a statin drug can block IL-33 expression, preventing chronic inflammation and cancer in experimental models. Interestingly, statin use in patients, primarily for high cholesterol, is associated with a reduced risk of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer,” said study author Shadmehr Demehri.

Reference: Park, J.H., Mortaja, M., Son, H.G. et al. Statin prevents cancer development in chronic inflammation by blocking interleukin 33 expression. Nat Commun 15, 4099 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48441-8