The anti-angiogenic properties of statins, widely used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia, have recently been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of use of statins for the management of post-operative recurrence and progression of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Of 306 patients diagnosed with kidney cancer between January, 2006 and June, 2012, 115 patients who showed no distant metastasis and had undergone radical or partial nephrectomy were selected. These patients were divided into a group that took statins and a group that did not. The effects of statins on the progression and recurrence of renal cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The demographics of the statins group showed that there were more males (P=0.039) and that they were of older age [mean age, 65.24 (±6.82) vs. 58.95 (±12.33) years; P=0.039] and of higher body mass index (BMI) [26.17 (±2.96) vs. 24.24 (±3.35), P=0.017]. Recurrence-free survival in the two groups showed 59.44 and 66.72 months for the statin and non-statin groups, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P=0.586). Progression-free survival also showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.307). Results of the multivariate analysis using Cox's regression model revealed that gender, age and BMI had no significance as prognostic factors for the recurrence and progression of renal cancer (P>0.05). Findings of the present study demonstrated that statins do not have a marked effect on the recurrence and progression of renal cancer. Therefore, further investigation using a larger patient group should be conducted for future statistical analysis.
Keywords: carcinoma; hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors; prognosis; renal cell.