Abstract

Randomized controlled trials for preventing cardiovascular disease indicated that statins had provocative and unexpected benefits for reducing colorectal cancer and melanoma. These findings have led to the intensive study of statins in cancer prevention, including recent, large population-based studies showing statin-associated reductions in overall, colorectal and prostate cancer. Understanding the complex cellular effects (for example, on angiogenesis and inflammation) and the underlying molecular mechanisms of statins (for example, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase-dependent processes that involve geranylgeranylation of Rho proteins, and HMG-CoA-independent processes that involve lymphocyte-function-associated antigen 1) will advance the development of molecularly targeted agents for preventing cancer. This understanding might also help the development of drugs for other ageing-related diseases with interrelated molecular pathways.

Author affiliations

1. Department of Dermatology, Boston University School of Medicine, 720 Harrison Avenue DOB 801A, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
2. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Departments of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical Center, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
3. Division of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Departments of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical Center, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
4. Office of Centers, Training and Resources, National Cancer Institute, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
5. Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230, USA.
6. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: Scott M. Lippman⁵ Email: slippman@mdanderson.org

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