How statins can help prevent cancer

A team of researchers from the Mass Cancer Center found that statins, which are medications commonly used to lower cholesterol levels, may play a critical role in inhibiting a specific cancer pathway due to chronic inflammation. This innovative discovery was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

The study was led by Sean Demery, MD, principal investigator of the Cancer Immunology and Skin Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School.

Demery explained that chronic inflammation is an important factor in several types of cancer around the world. The team focused on understanding how environmental toxins cause chronic inflammation in organs such as the skin. and pancreas, and in the search for treatments that can block this process and prevent its malignant consequences.

The study combined several approaches, including studies of cell lines, animal models, analysis of human tissue samples and examination of epidemiological data. Cellular experiments have shown that exposure to allergens and chemical irritants activates the TLR3/4 and TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathways. This activation leads to the production of the protein interleukin-33 (IL-33), which is a potent mediator of inflammation and may be involved in the development of cancer.

Demery’s team examined a large library of FDA-approved drugs and found that pitavastatin, a specific statin, effectively suppresses IL-33 expression.

This is achieved by blocking the activation of the TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathway. In mouse studies Pitavastatin has been shown to be effective in suppressing inflammation caused by environmental factors. in both the skin and pancreas, and prevented the development of pancreatic cancer associated with inflammation.

The results were equally promising in human tissue studies. In pancreatic samples, IL-33 was significantly overexpressed in patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer compared with normal pancreatic tissue.

Additionally, an analysis of electronic health records of more than 200 million people in North America and Europe found that pitavastatin use was associated with a marked reduction in the risk of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

These results suggest that blocking IL-33 production with pitavastatin may be an effective strategy to prevent chronic inflammation and therefore reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer.

Research opens up new possibilities for preventing and treating cancers associated with chronic inflammationemphasizing the importance of statins beyond their traditional use for cholesterol control.

The research team’s next step is to further study statins in preventing cancer in other organs affected by chronic inflammation, such as the liver and gastrointestinal tract. In addition, they are interested in identifying new therapeutic approaches that can suppress chronic, cancer-prone inflammation.

“Our goal is to develop preventive strategies that can be safely and effectively implemented to reduce the burden of cancer caused by chronic inflammation,” commented Demery.

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