ArticleLung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)2016
The effect of statins on survival in patients with stage IV lung cancer.
Article in Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
48 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
- Role of statins in non-small cell lung cancer treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- The effects of statins in patients with advanced-stage cancers - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- Statin use and prognosis of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled trials.Drug design, development and therapy · 2019Pooled it
- Effect of statins on the mortality of long-term survivors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a population-based study in endemic area.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2026Article
- Atorvastatin as a pleiotropic anticancer agent: mechanisms, evidence, and therapeutic repurposing potential.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- The role of statins in the treatment of lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The Mevalonate Pathway in the Radiation Response of Cancer.International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics · 2025Review
- Statins as potential adjuvant therapy in lung cancer: a narrative review.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Review
- Association of Wild-Type TP53 with Downregulation of Lovastatin Sensitivity in Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- miRNA-Based Technologies in Cancer Therapy.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Review
- Review
- Screening of Therapeutic Targets for Pancreatic Cancer by Bioinformatics Methods.Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme · 2023Article
- Clinical and sociodemographic risk factors associated with the development of second primary cancers among postmenopausal breast cancer survivors.Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) · 2023Article
- Article
- Lung cancer, comorbidities, and medication: the infernal trio.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Review
- Association between Statin Use and Survival in Cancer Patients with Brain Metastasis: Retrospective Analysis from the Chinese Population.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The clinical significance of preoperative serum triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein levels in lung squamous cell carcinoma.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Drug repurposing-an emerging strategy in cancer therapeutics.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2022Review
- The effects of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in COPD induced by cigarette smoke: an update.Respiratory research · 2022Review
- Effect of Statins on Lung Cancer Molecular Pathways: A Possible Therapeutic Role.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesPrior studies have shown an anticancer effect of statins in patients with certain malignancies. However, it is unclear whether statins have a mortality benefit in lung cancer. We compared survival of patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving vs. not receiving statins prior to diagnosis.
methodsUsing data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry linked to Medicare claims, we identified 5118 patients >65 years of age diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC between 2007 and 2009. We used propensity score methods to assess the association of statin use with overall and lung cancer-specific survival while controlling for measured confounders.
resultsOverall, 27% of patients were on statins at time of lung cancer diagnosis. Median survival in the statin group was 7 months, compared to 4 months in patients not treated with statins (p<0.001). Propensity score analyses found that statin use was associated with improvement in overall (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73-0.79) and lung cancer-specific survival (HR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.73-0.81), after controlling for baseline patient characteristics, cancer characteristics, staging work-up and chemotherapy use.
conclusionsStatin use is associated with improved survival among patients with stage IV NSCLC suggesting a potential anticancer effect. Further research should evaluate plausible biological mechanisms as well as test the effect of statins in prospective clinical trials.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.