Five years or more of statin use can reduce risk for colon cancer by nearly one half, even in people with a positive family history or other risk factor for the disease, according to an article in the May 26th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“This is an important piece of the puzzle. This piece helps bring together evidence that statins may have the potential to prevent chronic diseases other than heart disease, and helps us consider ways to study these powerful drugs for more than one purpose,” said study author Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD.

Data were based on the Molecular Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer study, a population-based, case-control study of colorectal cancer in northern Israel. The researchers analyzed information for 1,953 people with colorectal cancer and 2,015 control subjects who did not have colon cancer. All study participants were asked to recall every medication they had used for at least five years. Statin use was determined based on the list and validation against prescription records from the health care provider.

The people without colon cancer were nearly twice as likely to report taking statins for at least five years compared with people with a history of colon cancer: 11.6 percent versus 6.1 percent.

Researchers analyzed the data taking into account increased or decreased risk associated with demographic factors such as age, sex, ethnic background, and lifestyle factors such as taking aspirin, participating in sports, and eating vegetables. They also considered a family history of colon cancer.

Even considering all these additional factors, statins were still associated with a 47-percent reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

It’s not known or well understood why statins show a protective effect against cancer. Recent research has suggested a similar connection between statins and other types of cancer, including breast, prostate, pancreatic and esophageal cancers. Researchers suspect something in the cholesterol pathway may affect a person’s risk of colon cancer.

“Statins also have anti-inflammatory properties that might be relevant for cancer. That may explain why they appear to work in other cancers besides colon cancer,” said lead author Jenny Poynter, MPH.

But, the researchers cautioned, there is no current basis to recommend prescription of statins to prevent cancer.

“We are now working to identify those groups who are likely to benefit most. In order to proceed to clinical trials, it is important to know who is most likely to benefit, and who isn't,” said Gruber.