Statin Use in Patients With Cancer

Figures

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  Figure 1. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews Flow Diagram The process of identifying, screening, and selecting studies for inclusion in the scoping review.

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  Figure 2. FDA-Approved Oncology Drugs per Indication and Interactions With Commonly Prescribed Statins 207 FDA approvals for oncology drugs from June 27, 2019, to June 27, 2024, were recorded and categorized by their specific indications. DDIs between each oncology agent and the top 5 most prescribed statins—rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, pravastatin, and lovastatin—were evaluated using UpToDate Lexi-Drug. Labels indicate the number of approved drugs with any level of interaction with a statin vs the total number of approved drugs for each indication. DDIs = drug-drug interactions; FDA = Food and Drug Administration; GIST = gastrointestinal stromal tumor; NSCLC = non–small cell lung cancer; SCLC = small cell lung cancer.

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  Figure 3. Interactions Between Statins and Recently Approved Oncology drugs Interactions between the 5 most commonly prescribed statins and oncology drugs approved from 2019 to 2024 were quantified. Abbreviation as in Figure 2.

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  Figure 4. Risk Ratings of Interactions Between Statins and Approved Oncology Drugs (A) Distribution of risk ratings for all interactions between statins and approved oncology drugs. (B) 6 indications were identified to have approved agents with the most interactions with statin drugs. Risk ratings were recorded based on Lexidrug categories as described in Table 1.

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  Figure 5. Rates of Statin Use in Cancer Patients by Cancer Types A scoping review was performed to identify observational studies with available data on statin use rates in cancer patients.

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  Central Illustration. Statins in Oncology Patients Analysis of DDIs between statins and recently approved oncology agents, assessing severity and distribution across cancer types. Of 138 FDA-approved oncology agents, 33 (24%) exhibited DDIs with statins, with most interactions requiring monitoring. Simvastatin showed the highest interaction rate. Statin prescribing was highest in prostate and lung cancer, and lowest in liver and breast cancer. Findings suggest that DDIs between statins and oncology drugs are uncommon and rarely contraindicated, supporting the continuation of statins in cancer patients when clinically appropriate. CVD= cardiovascular disease; other abbreviations as in Figure 2.