Statins and Metformin Use Is Associated with Lower PSA Levels in Prostate Cancer Patients Presenting for Radiation Therapy

Abstract

Background: A possible association between the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and the use of some commonly prescribed medications has been reported in recent studies. Most of these studies were carried out in general populations of men who were screened for prostate cancer using the PSA test. We reported on the association between the initial PSA level and the use of statins, metformin and alpha-blockers in patients who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and presented for radiation therapy. Methods: Three hundred and eighty one patients treated between the years of 2000-2005 and 2009-2012 were included in this retrospective study. The information about statin, metformin and alpha-blockers use was recorded immediately prior to treatment. Differences in PSA levels prior to treatment by medication status were estimated using univariate and multivariate linear regression on log PSA values. Results: Compared with men who were not on these medications, the PSA level at presentation was 20% lower for statin users (p = 0.002) and 33% lower for metformin users (p = 0.004). We did not observe statistically significant associations between the use of statins or metformin and cancer stage, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) risk score, or therapy outcome. A statistically significant association between the NCCN risk score and the use of alpha-blockers was observed (p = 0.002). Conclusions: We found that statins and metformin were associated with lower PSA levels in prostate cancer patients to an extent that could influence management decisions. We found no statistically significant associations between the use of these medications and treatment outcomes.