Cholesterol-lowering drugs and colorectal cancer incidence in a large United States cohort

3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, commonly known as statins, account for most cholesterol-lowering drug use in the United States. A recent large case-control study reported that use of statins for more than 5 years was associated with a 47% reduction in risk of colorectal cancer. No other large studies have examined this association. We examined the association between use of cholesterol-lowering drugs and colorectal cancer incidence among 132,136 men and women in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. We identified 815 incident cases of colorectal cancer among study participants during follow-up from the date of completion of a study questionnaire in 1997 through August 31, 2001. Current use of cholesterol-lowering drugs was not associated with colorectal cancer incidence (multivariable adjusted rate ratio [RR] = 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.85 to 1.26). Current use of cholesterol-lowering drugs for 5 years or more was also not associated with colorectal cancer incidence (multivariable adjusted RR = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.83 to 1.43). Our results do not support the hypothesis that statin use strongly reduces risk of colorectal cancer. However, we cannot rule out a small reduction in risk or an effect associated with only specific types or doses of statins.