SynthesisCancer causes & control : CCC2020
Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies assessing the relationship between statin use and risk of ovarian cancer.
Synthesis in Cancer causes & control : CCC, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Statins as Repurposed Drugs in Gynecological Cancer: A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Obesity-Related Cancers in Relation to Use of Statins and Testosterone Replacement Therapy Among Older Women: SEER-Medicare 2007-2015.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Proteogenomic and observational evidence implicate ANGPTL4 as a potential therapeutic target for colorectal cancer prevention.Journal of the National Cancer Institute · 2025Article
- Enhancing the human health and lifespan: a targeted strategy emphasizing statins.Biogerontology · 2024Review
- One Molecule, Many Faces: Repositioning Cardiovascular Agents for Advanced Wound Healing.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Mutant p53 murine oviductal epithelial cells induce progression of high-grade serous carcinoma and are most sensitive to simvastatin therapy in vitro and in vivo.Journal of ovarian research · 2023Article
- Review
- The Role of Statins in the Prevention of Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers.Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2023Article
- Statin use improves the prognosis of ovarian cancer: An updated and comprehensive meta-analysis.Oncology letters · 2023Article
- Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase: Role in human health, disease and potential therapeutic target.Clinical and translational medicine · 2023Review
- Response Predictive Markers and Synergistic Agents for Drug Repositioning of Statins in Ovarian Cancer.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The tangled web of dyslipidemia and cancer: Is there any association?Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · 2022Review
- Current Treatments and New Possible Complementary Therapies for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer.Biomedicines · 2021Review
- Obesity-Specific Association of Statin Use and Reduced Risk of Recurrence of Early Stage NSCLC.JTO clinical and research reports · 2021Article
- Small Molecule Targeting of Oxysterol-Binding Protein (OSBP)-Related Protein 4 and OSBP Inhibits Ovarian Cancer Cell Proliferation in Monolayer and Spheroid Cell Models.ACS pharmacology & translational science · 2021Article
- Statins: HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Agents against Malignant Neoplasms in Women.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeThe link between lipid-stabilizing medications and epithelial ovarian carcinogenesis is incompletely understood. Statins may reduce ovarian cancer risk, but results are inconclusive.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting associations between statin use and ovarian cancer risk in PubMed. Summary risk ratios (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup analyses by cancer histotype, statin class (lipo- or hydrophilic) and duration of statin use were conducted. Use of individual statins in populations was assessed to determine population-specific differences in statin types.
resultsNine studies with 435,237 total women were included (1 randomized controlled trial (RCT); 4 prospective; 4 case-control). Statin use was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74-1.03) and risk was significantly reduced in populations with low pravastatin use (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70-0.99). Risk estimates varied by statin class (3 studies; lipophilic: RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.69-1.12; hydrophilic: RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.72-1.57) and cancer histotype (3 studies; serous: RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.69-1.30; clear cell: RR 1.17, 95% CI 0.74-1.86). Long-term use was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.54-1.10) that further reduced when pravastatin use was low (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.46-1.01). Between-study heterogeneity was high overall and in subgroups (I
conclusionStatins may be associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer, but the effect likely differs by individual statin, duration of use and cancer histotype. Additional well-powered studies are needed to elucidate important subgroup effects.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.