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Can statin therapy reduce the risk of melanoma? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

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Abstract

A growing body of literature suggests that statins may have a chemopreventive potential against melanoma through pleiotropic anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antiangiogenesis mechanisms. Our aim was to examine this association through a detailed meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A comprehensive search for trials published up to June 2009 was performed, reviews of each study were conducted and data were abstracted. Prior to meta-analysis, the studies were evaluated for publication bias and heterogeneity. Pooled relative risk estimates (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the fixed- and the random-effects models. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Sixteen RCTs of statins for cardiovascular outcomes, involving 62,568 individuals with a mean age of 60 years and an average follow-up of nearly 4.7 years, contributed to the analysis. We found no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.47) or heterogeneity among the studies (P = 0.25). Statin use did not significantly affect the risk of developing melanoma assuming either a fixed- (RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.67–1.26), or a random-effects model (RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.62–1.36). This neutral effect was further supported by the results of subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Our findings do not support a protective effect of statins against melanoma.

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Acknowledgments

No outside funding was provided for this analysis. No conflict of interest exists for any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, 75 Mikras Asias Str., 11527, Athens, Greece

    Stefanos Bonovas & Nikolaos M. Sitaras

  2. Center for Diseases Control and Prevention, Athens, Greece

    Stefanos Bonovas & Georgios Nikolopoulos

  3. External consultant, 42 Kyprou Str., 15354, Glyka Nera, Greece

    Kalitsa Filioussi

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Evangelia Peponi

  5. Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Central Greece, Lamia, Greece

    Pantelis Bagos

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  1. Stefanos Bonovas
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Correspondence to Stefanos Bonovas.

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Bonovas, S., Nikolopoulos, G., Filioussi, K. et al. Can statin therapy reduce the risk of melanoma? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Epidemiol 25, 29–35 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-009-9396-x

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