Long-term statin therapy improves oncological outcome after radical gastrectomy for stage II and III gastric cancer

Background/Aim: Although several epidemiological studies have indicated that statins may have antitumor properties, the effect of statins on patient survival after curative resection of gastric cancer is unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine whether statin use could improve long-term outcomes after radical gastrectomy. Patiens and Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study of 65 statin users and 176 non-users who underwent radical gastrectomy for stage II and III gastric cancer from January 2006 to December 2009. Results: No significant differences were found in recurrence-free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS) between statin users and non-users. However, subgroup analysis showed that patients who used statins for more than six months had more favorable outcomes than non-users or those who used statins for less than six months [adjusted hazard ratio of death (non-users as reference); statin use <6 months: 2.405, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.056-5.477 and statin use >6 months: 0.168, 95% CI=0.032-0.881, p=0.006]. Conclusion: Statin use did not improve RFS or OS after curative resection of stage II or III gastric cancer in the overall study population. However, statin use of more than six months was associated with increased survival.