The jury is still out, but for now there is no clear evidence that statins or fibrates can decrease the risk of melanoma, according to a new review of studies conducted by The Cochrane Collaboration.
Investigators for the international organization, which conducts systematic reviews and issues evidence-based conclusions about medical practice, identified 16 qualifying randomized controlled trials (7 on statins, 9 on fibrates), 13 of which provided data on incident melanomas. Investigators also requested unpublished melanoma outcomes data from study authors.
There were 66 reported melanomas in patients receiving the experimental drug and 86 in patients receiving placebo and other control therapies in the trials, which included more than 62,000 patients, according to the Cochrane review.
The outcomes data “[do] not exclude the possibility that these drugs prevent melanoma,” since there was a 10% and 42% reduction in melanoma for patients taking statins and fibrates, respectively, the investigators say in the review, which was led by Dr. Robert Dellavalle of Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The results were not statistically significant, however, and trials of cancer and statins should continue in order to further address suggestions raised by case-control, in vitro, and animal model studies.
The trials included in the review all involved random allocation of study participants, the use of statins or fibrates in isolation in the studies' experimental groups, and the administration of therapy for at least 4 years.