Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Citations 4
Validation of the Surrogate Threshold Effect for Change in Bone Mineral Density as a Surrogate Endpoint for Fracture Outcomes: The FNIH-ASBMR SABRE Project
Treatment-Related Changes in Bone Turnover and Fracture Risk Reduction in Clinical Trials of Antiresorptive Drugs: Proportion of Treatment Effect Explained
Abstract Background: Statins are the most widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs in the United States, with approximately 25% of US adults using statins by 2008. The anti-carcinogenic effect of statins may reduce the metastatic potential of cancer cells leading to ‘stage migration’ with statin users more likely diagnosed with early rather than late stage cancer. We evaluated the effects of statins on breast cancer stage migration and breast cancer-specific mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Clinical Trial and Observational Study. Methods: The study population included 128,675 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years, with 7,883 newly-diagnosed pathologically-confirmed cases of in situ (19%), local stage (61%), regional stage (19%) and distant stage (1%) breast cancer and 401 deaths due to breast cancer after an average of 11.5 (SD=3.7) years of follow-up. To reduce the possibility of detection bias, we excluded women who did not report a mammogram within 5 years of study entry, and who had no health insurance or medical care provider (n=28,237). Stage was coded using criteria implemented in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program and stratified into early stage (in situ and local) vs. late stage (regional and distant). Information on statin use prior to breast cancer diagnosis was collected at baseline and years one, three, six, and nine years post-baseline. Self- and interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to collect risk factor information. Cause of death was based on medical record review by physician adjudicators. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to evaluate the relationship between statin use as a time-dependent exposure and diagnosis of late stage breast cancer and breast cancer-specific mortality adjusting for important confounders. For these models, participants who had early stage breast cancer or who died during follow-up were censored at time of diagnosis or death, respectively. We also evaluated the effect of statins stratified by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Statins were used by 10,474 women (8%) at baseline. In the multivariable-adjusted time-dependent model, statin use was associated with a marginal reduction in risk of late stage breast cancer (HR 0.84, 95% CI: 0.70-1.02, p=0.082) and a reduction in risk of late stage estrogen receptor positive breast cancer (HR 0.79, 95% CI: 0.63-0.99, p=0.044). Statin use was also associated with a marginal reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality although it did not reach statistical significance (HR 0.59, 95% CI: 0.32-1.06, p=0.075). Conclusions: In the WHI, statin use was associated with a modest reduction in risk of late stage estrogen positive breast cancer and a non-significant decrease in breast cancer mortality. We are currently performing sensitivity analyses on these models. Studies using other large data sets with longer follow-up and information on cancer-directed therapy are needed to further evaluate this possible association. Citation Format: Monica P Arun, Pinkal Desai, Amy Lehman, Marilyn L Kwan, JoAnn E Manson, Sayeh Lavasani, Sylvia Wasswertheil-Smoller, Gloria E Sarto, Meryl S LeBoff, Jane Cauley, Michele L Cote, Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer, Allison Jay, Rowan T Chlebowski, Michael S Simon. Statins and breast cancer stage and mortality in the Women's Health Initiative cohort [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-10-04.
Postmenopausal Bilateral Oophorectomy Is Not Associated With Increased Fracture Risk in Older Women
Abstract We studied whether oophorectomy performed after menopause is associated with an increased risk of hip or vertebral fractures in 6295 Study of Osteoporotic Fractures participants. There was no association between postmenopausal oophorectomy and the risk of hip or vertebral fractures. Introduction: Bilateral oophorectomy after natural menopause has been associated with an increased risk of osteoporotic fractures, potentially because of a decline in serum estradiol and testosterone levels after the oophorectomy. We prospectively tested this hypothesis in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF). Materials and Methods: We studied 6295 white women ⩾65 years of age participating in the SOF who were not taking estrogen therapy at baseline. Hip fracture analyses included 708 hip fractures; vertebral fracture analyses included 267 incident vertebral fractures. Baseline serum estradiol and free testosterone values were available in a small subset of participants. Results and Conclusion: There were no significant differences in age, weight, or BMD between the women who underwent postmenopausal oophorectomy (n = 583) and those who did not (n = 5712). Free testosterone levels were significantly lower among women who had a postmenopausal oophorectomy. A history of postmenopausal oophorectomy was not associated with an increased risk of hip (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.1; 95% CI = 0.9-1.5) or vertebral fracture (HR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.5-1.2). The relationship between oophorectomy and hip fracture was not altered by adding serum estradiol level (HR = 1.3; 95% CI = 0.5-3.2) or serum free testosterone level (HR = 1.7; 95% CI = 0.8-3.7) to the model. In summary, postmenopausal oophorectomy was not associated with an increased risk of hip or vertebral fracture in this cohort. These results are in contrast to previous findings, suggesting that the relationship between postmenopausal oophorectomy and fractures is not fully elucidated and that incidental oophorectomy after menopause should still be considered carefully in each potential patient.