Statin therapy and postoperative short-term mortality after rectal cancer surgery

Aim: This study aimed to assess the correlation between regular statin therapy and postoperative mortality following surgical resection for rectal cancer.

Method: This retrospective cohort study included all adult patients undergoing abdominal rectal cancer surgery in Sweden between January 2007 and September 2016. Data were gathered from the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry, a large population-based prospectively collected registry. Statin users were defined as patients with one or more collected prescriptions of a statin within 12 months before the date of surgery. The statin-positive and statin-negative cohorts were matched by propensity scores based on baseline demographics.

Results: A total of 11 966 patients underwent surgical resection for rectal cancer, of whom 3019 (25%) were identified as statin users. After applying propensity score matching (1:1), 3017 pairs were available for comparison. In the matched groups, statin users demonstrated reduced 90-day all-cause mortality (0.7% vs. 5.5%, p < 0.001) and also showed significantly reduced cause-specific mortality due to cardiovascular and respiratory events, as well as sepsis and multiorgan failure. The significant postoperative survival benefit of statin users was seen despite a higher rate of cardiovascular comorbidity.

Conclusion: Preoperative statin therapy displays a strong association with reduced postoperative mortality following surgical resection for rectal cancer. The results from the current study warrant further investigation to determine whether a causal relationship exists.