Three Common Medicines Reduce Risk and Mortality for Lung Cancer

Using aspirin, statins, and metformin together is linked to reduced lung cancer incidence and death, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.

All three medicines are common. Approximately 35 million people take a statin to control cholesterol; between 6 and 10 million people take aspirin daily, and more than 120 million people take metformin to control diabetes.

‘The combined use of aspirin, statins, and metformin inhibits multiple pathways linked to lung cancer cell growth and proliferation, resulting in favorable lung cancer risk and mortality associations. ’

The study aimed to examine the relationships of aspirin, metformin, and statins with lung cancer risk and death using population-based nationwide cohort data. The Korean National Health Insurance Services (KNHIS) database was used in the current study.

The KNHIS is a universal health care system that covers the entire Korean population of 50 million.

"To our knowledge, no study has evaluated statins, metformin, and aspirin use and their combined influence on lung cancer incidence and mortality," reports lead study author Dong Wook Shin, MD, DrPH, MBA at the Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, Korean.

Dr. Shin and his colleagues examined 732,199 Koreans from the Korean National Health Insurance Services database. The patients were followed from January 2004 to December 2013. Lung cancer incidence and mortality were recognized using a registered lung cancer diagnosis code and the Korean National Death Registry.

The researchers classified the cohort into 8 groups based on exposure to statins, aspirin, and metformin to address the combined connections of these cardiovascular drugs with lung cancer risk and death.

Dr. Shin theorized that the use of aspirin, statins, and metformin concurrently inhibits multiple pathways linked to lung cancer cell growth and proliferation, resulting in favorable associations with lung cancer risk and mortality.

Source: Medindia