Statins as Anticancer Agents in the Era of Precision Medicine

150 150 Penn Lab
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Journal:

Clinical Cancer Research (Review) (November 15, 2020);

DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-1967

Authors:

Joseph Longo, Jenna E. van Leeuwen, Mohamad Elbaz, Emily Branchard, Linda Z. Penn

Abstract

Statins are widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs that inhibit HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), the rate-limiting enzyme of the mevalonate metabolic pathway. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that certain cancers depend on the mevalonate pathway for growth and survival, and, therefore, are vulnerable to statin therapy. However, these immediately available, well-tolerated, and inexpensive drugs have yet to be successfully repurposed and integrated into cancer patient care. In this review, we highlight recent advances and outline important considerations for advancing statins to clinical trials in oncology.

Figure 1
Schematic of the mevalonate pathway and its SREBP-mediated feedback response.
Figure 2
Identifying statin vulnerable tumors. Cancer cells display a wide range of statin drug sensitivities, highlighting that not all tumors are vulnerable to mevalonate pathway inhibition.