Statin Use Ameliorates Survival in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma-Data from a Population-Based Cohort Study Applying Propensity Score Matching

• Published in: Biomedicines Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 369
• Main Authors: Spoerl, Steffen, Gerken, Michael, Fischer, René, Spoerl, Silvia, Kirschneck, Christian, Wolf, Stefanie, Taxis, Juergen, Ludwig, Nils, Biermann, Niklas, Reichert, Torsten E, Spanier, Gerrit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Alcohol; Aspirin; Cancer therapies; cardiovascular disease; Cell survival; Cholesterol; Clinical trials; Cohort analysis; Comorbidity; Dissection; Health services; HNSCC; hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase inhibitor; Interdisciplinary aspects; Lymphatic system; Mouth cancer; Oral carcinoma; Oral squamous cell carcinoma; OSCC; Otolaryngology; Patients; Physiological aspects; Population; Population studies; Population-based studies; Quality management; Radiation therapy; Risk factors; statin; Statins; Germany; CVD; OSCC; cardiovascular disease; propensity score matching; statin; HNSCC; survival; hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA reductase inhibitor; oral squamous cell carcinoma; PSM
• ISSN: 2227-9059; 2227-9059
• DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11020369

The anti-cancer properties of statins have attracted much attention recently, but little is known about the prognostic role of statins in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In a retrospective approach, we analyzed a population-based cohort of 602 OSCC patients with primary curative tumor resection to negative margins and concomitant neck dissection between 2005-2017. Long-term medication with statins was correlated with overall survival (OAS) as well as recurrence-free survival (RFS) using uni- and multivariable Cox regression. Additionally, propensity score matching was applied to adjust for confounders. Statin use was present in 96 patients (15.9%) at a median age of 65.7 years. Statin treatment correlated with ameliorated survival in multivariable Cox regression in the complete cohort (OAS: HR 0.664; 95% CI 0.467-0.945, = 0.023; RFS: HR 0.662; 95% CI 0.476-0.920, = 0.014) as well as matched-pair cohort of OSCC patients (OAS: HR 0.691; 95% CI 0.479-0.997, = 0.048; RFS: HR 0.694; 95% CI 0.493-0.976, = 0.036) when compared to patients not taking statins at time of diagnosis. These findings were even more pronounced by sub-group analysis in the matched-pair cohort (age < 70 years). These data indicate that statin use might ameliorate the oncological outcome in primarily resected OSCC patients, but prospective clinical trials are highly recommended.