Purpose: Statins, known as inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductases, are designed to treat lipid disorders, especially hypercholesterolemia. Apart from their role in preventing heart diseases in patients with high cholesterol, recent evidence suggests that statins have anti-tumor properties. However, studies assessing the association between statin use and esophageal cancer survival outcomes have provided controversial results. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on studies evaluating associations between statin use and survival outcomes for esophageal cancer patients. Results: A total of five cohort studies comprising 24,576 patients were included. Statin use associated with improved overall survival (OS: HR 0.84, 95% CI, 0.75-0.94) and disease-free survival (DFS: HR 0.84, 95% CI, 0.75-0.96) of esophageal cancer patients. The improved survival outcomes were consistent in the esophageal adenocarcinoma subgroup and the esophageal squamous cell cancer subgroup. Conclusion: A potential therapeutic role of statins in esophageal cancer has been demonstrated in our study, however, the results should be interpreted cautiously and need further confirmation by future studies.
Keywords: drug repositioning; esophageal cancer; statins; survival outcome.