Statins may prevent cancer by blocking inflammatory protein

Scientists have recently discovered that statins, which are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol, might also inhibit a specific pathway that contributes to cancer development under conditions of chronic inflammation. This groundbreaking research was conducted by a team from Mass General Cancer Center, part of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and the results have been published in Nature Communications.

According to Shawn Demehri, MD, PhD, the study's senior author and a principal investigator at the Center for Cancer Immunology and Cutaneous Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, chronic inflammation is a major contributor to cancer globally. The research aimed to understand how environmental toxins trigger cancer-prone chronic inflammation in the skin and pancreas. Additionally, the team sought to identify treatments that could effectively block this pathway to prevent inflammation-related cancer.

The study utilized a variety of methods, including cell lines, animal models, human tissue samples, and epidemiological data. The experiments revealed that environmental toxins, such as allergens and chemical irritants, activate the TLR3/4 and TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathways. This activation leads to the production of interleukin-33 (IL-33), a protein that promotes inflammation in the skin and pancreas, potentially leading to cancer.

When screening a library of FDA-approved drugs, the researchers discovered that pitavastatin, a type of statin, suppresses IL-33 expression by inhibiting the TBK1-IRF3 pathway. In animal models, pitavastatin effectively reduced inflammation induced by environmental factors in both the skin and pancreas, subsequently preventing the occurrence of inflammation-related pancreatic cancers.

In human tissue samples, IL-33 levels were significantly higher in patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer compared to those with normal pancreatic tissue. Additionally, an analysis of electronic health records from over 200 million individuals in North America and Europe showed that pitavastatin use was associated with a notably lower risk of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

These findings suggest that pitavastatin could be a safe and effective method for preventing chronic inflammation and its associated cancers. Demehri emphasized the significance of these results, stating that the next steps involve examining the role of statins in preventing cancer in other organs affected by chronic inflammation, such as the liver and gastrointestinal tract. The team is also looking to identify other novel therapeutic approaches to combat cancer-prone chronic inflammation.