Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep;90(9):1671-1676.
doi: 10.1111/ans.15600. Epub 2019 Dec 17.

Statin therapy does not influence the outcome of patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer

Dimitrios Karavias  1 , Paul Thomas  1 , Amanda Koh  1 , Glen Irving  1 , Alex P Navarro  1 , Iain C Cameron  1 , Dhanny Gomez  1   2 ; Nottingham HPB Surgery Group
Affiliations

Statin therapy does not influence the outcome of patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer

Dimitrios Karavias et al. ANZ J Surg. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Recently, statins have been associated with improved survival in certain cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of statins on the outcome of patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer. In addition, the effect of statins on the histopathological characteristics of the disease was assessed.

Methods: A retrospective review of the prospectively maintained hepato-pancreatico-biliary database was performed and patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent surgery between January 2014 and December 2017 were included. Statistical analysis was performed to assess the impact of statins on histopathological characteristics and survival outcome.

Results: A total of 151 patients were included, of whom 71 underwent pancreatic resections and 80 underwent trial dissection and bypass procedures. In the operated group, 20 patients were on statin therapy preoperatively. With respect to disease-free survival, tumour size (P = 0.023) and lymphatic invasion (P = 0.015) were significant variables on univariate analysis. Gender (P = 0.022), adjuvant chemotherapy (P < 0.001), lymphatic invasion (P = 0.021) and tumour size (P = 0.041) were significant variables on univariate analysis with respect to overall survival. Multivariate analysis identified adjuvant chemotherapy as the only independent predictor of overall survival (P < 0.001). No correlations between the use of statins and the histopathological characteristics were identified.

Conclusion: Adjuvant chemotherapy is an independent predictor of overall survival in patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer. Statin therapy does not influence survival outcomes and histopathological characteristics following surgery for pancreatic cancer.

Keywords: Whipple's procedure; pancreatic cancer; pancreaticoduodenectomy; statin.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lepage C, Capocaccia R, Hackl M et al. Survival in patients with primary liver cancer, gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract cancer and pancreatic cancer in Europe 1999-2007: results of EUROCARE-5. Eur. J. Cancer 2015; 51: 2169-78.
    1. Garcea G, Dennison AR, Pattenden CJ, Neal CP, Sutton CD, Berry DP. Survival following curative resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. A systematic review of the literature. JOP 2008; 9: 99-132.
    1. Barhli A, Cros J, Bartholin L, Neuzillet C. Prognostic stratification of resected pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: past, present, and future. Dig. Liver Dis. 2018; 50: 979-90.
    1. Baigent C, Keech A, Kearney PM et al. Efficacy and safety of cholesterol-lowering treatment: prospective meta-analysis of data from 90,056 participants in 14 randomised trials of statins. Lancet 2005; 366: 1267-78.
    1. Schurr JW, Wu W, Smith-Hannah A, Smith CJ, Barrera R. Incidence of sepsis and mortality with prior exposure of HMG-COA reductase inhibitors in a surgical intensive care population. Shock 2016; 45: 10-5.

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources