Statins have been widely prescribed to lower blood cholesterol.
An article from Inside Precision Medicine reported that a team of researchers at the Sharjah University in the UAE identified statins as having a favorable effect on survival for patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or with small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
Both disorders have an impact on B lymphocytes, exhibit slow growth and are similar diseases. The main difference is their origination. CLL starts in the bone marrow and bloodstream while SLL originates in the lymphatic tissue and lymph nodes.
Cases Reported Worldwide
An estimated one 100,000 cases of both cancer types are reported worldwide each year. SLL and CLL may not exhibit symptoms for years. Under these circumstances the recommended approach is to monitor the disease. Treatment is only given if there is evidence that the disease is progressing.
According to current research, statins may have a positive impact on survival for CLL patients through several clinical pathways. One example would be to enhance treatments using venetoclax and ibrutinib.
Another example involves the reliance of CLL on cholesterol. Therefore, reducing cholesterol by using statins may also be beneficial.
To test this theory, Professor Ahmad Abuhelwa and associates at Sharjah University analyzed the data of 1,467 CLL and SLL patients and evaluated statins’ effect. Ninety-two percent of the total number of patients were diagnosed with CLL while 8% of patients were diagnosed with SLL. Sixty-six percent of these patients were men with a median age of sixty-five. A total of 424 participants were on medication containing statins.
The team reported their calculations in the journal Blood Advances indicating that using statins reduced a patient’s risk of death by 61% plus disease progression by26% when compared to those not using statins. The ”all causes” risk of death was reduced to 38%.
Professor Abuhelwa referred to the assessment as the first of its kind to evaluate statin use with survival outcomes for patients diagnosed with SLL or CLL and treated with ibrutinib or other targeted agents. Professor Abuhelwa emphasized the link between the use of statins and improvement in survival for this particular population.
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chronic lymphocytic leukemia CLL SLL Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma
Last modified: April 30, 2025
