Statins and breast cancer in postmenopausal women without hormone therapy.

BACKGROUND

Epidemiological data on the association between statin use and risk of breast cancer among overweight or obese postmenopausal women who have never used hormone therapy (HT) is limited.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in Fargo, ND, USA. Cases were overweight or obese, postmenopausal White women without a history of HT use who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Controls were White women without clinical cancer who were seen at the same hospital for an annual physical examination.

RESULTS

From a patient population aged 55 to 81 years old, data were obtained on 95 cases and 94 controls. Overall, there was no association between the use of statins and breast cancer risk odds ratio (OR)=1.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-2.5). However, risk varied by hormone receptor status. Compared to non-users, obese women who used hydrophobic statins had an elevated risk of progesterone receptor-negative (PR(-)) breast cancer OR=4.0 (95% CI 1.2-13.8), but not of tumors with other hormone receptor profiles. The risk for breast cancer was also significantly increased among overweight women who used hydrophobic statins for less than or equal to 4 years OR=4.1 (95% CI 1.2-14.4).

CONCLUSION

This observational study found an increased risk of breast cancer related to duration of statins use and PR(-) among postmenopausal women.