Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21813413›Full record

ArticleJournal of the National Cancer Institute2011

Statin prescriptions and breast cancer recurrence risk: a Danish nationwide prospective cohort study.

Thomas P Ahern, Lars Pedersen, Maja Tarp, Deirdre P Cronin-Fenton, Jens Peter Garne, Rebecca A Silliman, Henrik Toft Sørensen, Timothy L Lash

Open access · bronzeAbstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 222 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
222citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
9.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

222 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 392 citations in OpenAlex.

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  3. Statins and prognosis of female breast cancer: a meta-analysis.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025
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  16. Uncovering hypothesis-generating associations between prescription drugs and digestive cancer risk: a case-control drug-wide association study (DWAS).Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2026
    Article
  17. Antitumoral and cardioprotective roles of statins: underlying types, mechanisms, current evidence, and emerging perspectives.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026
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162 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Thomas P AhernChanning Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Ave, Rm 355, Boston, MA 02115, USA. nhtpa@channing.harvard.edu
Lars Pedersen
Maja Tarp
Deirdre P Cronin-Fenton
Jens Peter Garne
Rebecca A Silliman
Henrik Toft Sørensen
Timothy L Lash
Brigham and Women's Hospital · USAarhus University Hospital · DKBoston University · USAalborg University Hospital · DK

Funding

Training Program in Cancer EpidemiologyT32CA009001 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI A. Heather Eliassen, Meir Stampfer · 1985 to 2026
$17.3M
Modification of tamoxifen effectiveness by gene polymorphisms and other drugsR01CA118708 · NCI · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI LASH, TIMOTHY L. · 2006 to 2009
$963k
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA118708NCI NIH HHS T32 CA09001-35
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccumulating evidence suggests that statins affect diseases other than cardiovascular disease, including cancer, and that these effects may depend on the lipid solubility of specific statins. Though many studies have reported an association between statin use and breast cancer incidence, the relationship between statin use and breast cancer recurrence has not been well studied.

methodsWe conducted a nationwide, population-based prospective cohort study of all female residents in Denmark diagnosed with stage I-III invasive breast carcinoma who were reported to the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group registry between 1996 and 2003 (n = 18,769). Women were followed for a median of 6.8 years after diagnosis. Prescriptions for lipophilic and hydrophilic statins were ascertained from the national electronic pharmacy database. Associations between statin prescriptions and breast cancer recurrence were estimated with generalized linear models and Cox proportional hazards regression with adjustment for age and menopausal status at diagnosis; histological grade; estrogen receptor status; receipt of adjuvant therapy; type of primary surgery received; pre-diagnosis hormone replacement therapy; and co-prescriptions of aspirin, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or anticoagulants. All statistical tests were two-sided.

resultsMost prescriptions for lipophilic statins in the study population were for simvastatin. Exclusive simvastatin users experienced approximately 10 fewer breast cancer recurrences per 100 women after 10 years of follow-up (adjusted 10-year risk difference = -0.10, 95% confidence interval = -0.11 to -0.08), compared with women who were not prescribed a statin. Exclusive hydrophilic statin users had approximately the same risk of breast cancer recurrence as women not prescribed a statin over follow-up (adjusted 10-year risk difference = 0.05, 95% confidence interval = -0.01 to 0.11).

conclusionsSimvastatin, a highly lipophilic statin, was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence among Danish women diagnosed with stage I-III breast carcinoma, whereas no association between hydrophilic statin use and breast cancer recurrence was observed.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAnticholesteremic AgentsBreast NeoplasmsDenmarkDrug PrescriptionsFemaleHumansHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsHypercholesterolemiaLinear ModelsMiddle AgedNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalNeoplasm StagingProportional Hazards ModelsProspective StudiesAnticholesteremic AgentsHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsSimvastatin

Identifiers

PMID21813413
PMCPMC3186780
OpenAlexW2153810797

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 OpenQuestion graph.