STATINS EFFECT ON ONCOLOGIC OUTCOME IN LARYNX SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA: A
COMMENTARY ON OUR CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
Abstract
Purpose: Some studies have suggested a protective role of statins in
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) even though the real
contribution of statins to morbidity and survival remains unclear. Study
Design: Retrospective case-control Methods: The aim of this review is to
retrospectively evaluate the oncological protection and the outcome of
the statin intake in a population of patients affected by larynx
squamous cell carcinoma that underwent total or partial laryngectomy. We
analyzed 109 patients with a focus on the percentage of statin intake.
Overall survival (OS) was compared between patients underwent total or
partial laryngectomy assuming statin or not. Furthermore, we compare
statin intake in cancer patients with a population of non-cancer
patients. We analyzed if statin intake could be statistically
significant in increasing the overall survival. Results: The
Kaplan-Meier survival curves for oncologic population assuming statins
was 94,7% and 78% for patients that were not assuming statins. The Cox
multivariate regression analysis didn’t identify a statistically
significant OS benefit with statin intake Conclusion: Statin intake at
the time of diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx has shown
an improved OS even though statin consumption didn’t appear as a
statistically significant variable probably due to the small number of
patients analyzed. Another probable cause is the feedback of a medium
delay of about ten years in statin assumption compared to the onset of
the tumor and the emerged data of a smaller percentage of people
assuming statins from the population analyzed, compared to the national
medium.