Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study

Charlotte Skriver; Deirdre Cronin-Fenton; Signe Borgquist; Jakob Hansen Viuff; Sara Alkner; Lisa Rydén; Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm; Jonas Manjer; Ylva Bengtsson; Kirsten Frederiksen; Søren Friis; Lene Mellemkjær

doi:10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x

Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study

Charlotte Skriver^*
, Deirdre Cronin-Fenton
, Signe Borgquist
, Jakob Hansen Viuff
, Sara Alkner
, Lisa Rydén
, Anne-Vibeke Lænkholm
, Jonas Manjer
, Ylva Bengtsson
, Kirsten Frederiksen
, Søren Friis
, Lene Mellemkjær

^*Corresponding author for this work

Pathology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Statins have been suggested to protect against breast cancer risk, but the observational evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between statin use and breast cancer incidence among women at higher risk of breast cancer due to a history of benign breast disease (BBD).

METHODS: Using Danish registries, we identified cancer-free women aged ≥50 years during 1996-2018 with a history of BBD and no prior statin prescriptions. Using Cox regression, we estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for invasive breast cancer through 2020 with time-varying statin use defined according to continuity, duration, and intensity (estimated average daily dose), derived from prescription data.

RESULTS: Among 111,550 women, 7629 were diagnosed with breast cancer during median follow-up of 12.2 years. Overall statin use was not associated with breast cancer incidence (adjusted HR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.93-1.06), with similar associations observed according to continuity and duration of use. However, long-term (≥10 years), high-intensity statin use was associated with a reduced HR of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.60-0.96).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not indicate an association for overall statin use with breast cancer incidence among women with BBD. The inverse association with long-term, high-dose statin use requires further evaluation.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	828-836
Number of pages	9
Journal	British Journal of Cancer
Volume	132
Issue number	9
Early online date	8 Mar 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x
Publication status	Published - May 2025

Funding

This work was supported by the Danish Cancer Society's Scientific Committee (KBVU)(grant number R231-A13964). The funding source had no role in the design andconduct of the study; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; thewriting of the manuscript, and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Funders	Funder number
Danish Cancer Society	R231-A13964

Keywords

Aged
Breast Diseases/epidemiology
Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology
Cohort Studies
Denmark/epidemiology
Female
Humans
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/therapeutic use
Incidence
Middle Aged
Proportional Hazards Models
Registries
Risk Factors
Drugs
Carcinoma
Association

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10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x

Cite this

Skriver, C., Cronin-Fenton, D., Borgquist, S., Hansen Viuff, J., Alkner, S., Rydén, L., Lænkholm, A.-V., Manjer, J., Bengtsson, Y., Frederiksen, K., Friis, S., & Mellemkjær, L. (2025). Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study. British Journal of Cancer, 132(9), 828-836. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x

@article{c900e0d1517147fcb7911357fdaa4547,

title = "Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Statins have been suggested to protect against breast cancer risk, but the observational evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between statin use and breast cancer incidence among women at higher risk of breast cancer due to a history of benign breast disease (BBD).METHODS: Using Danish registries, we identified cancer-free women aged ≥50 years during 1996-2018 with a history of BBD and no prior statin prescriptions. Using Cox regression, we estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95\% confidence intervals (CIs) for invasive breast cancer through 2020 with time-varying statin use defined according to continuity, duration, and intensity (estimated average daily dose), derived from prescription data.RESULTS: Among 111,550 women, 7629 were diagnosed with breast cancer during median follow-up of 12.2 years. Overall statin use was not associated with breast cancer incidence (adjusted HR = 0.99; 95\% CI, 0.93-1.06), with similar associations observed according to continuity and duration of use. However, long-term (≥10 years), high-intensity statin use was associated with a reduced HR of 0.75 (95\% CI, 0.60-0.96).CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not indicate an association for overall statin use with breast cancer incidence among women with BBD. The inverse association with long-term, high-dose statin use requires further evaluation.",

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author = "Charlotte Skriver and Deirdre Cronin-Fenton and Signe Borgquist and \{Hansen Viuff\}, Jakob and Sara Alkner and Lisa Ryd{\'e}n and Anne-Vibeke L{\ae}nkholm and Jonas Manjer and Ylva Bengtsson and Kirsten Frederiksen and S{\o}ren Friis and Lene Mellemkj{\ae}r",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.",

year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x",

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volume = "132",

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Skriver, C, Cronin-Fenton, D, Borgquist, S, Hansen Viuff, J, Alkner, S, Rydén, L, Lænkholm, A-V, Manjer, J, Bengtsson, Y, Frederiksen, K, Friis, S & Mellemkjær, L 2025, 'Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study', British Journal of Cancer, vol. 132, no. 9, pp. 828-836. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x

TY - JOUR

T1 - Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease

T2 - a Danish nationwide cohort study

AU - Skriver, Charlotte

AU - Cronin-Fenton, Deirdre

AU - Borgquist, Signe

AU - Hansen Viuff, Jakob

AU - Alkner, Sara

AU - Rydén, Lisa

AU - Lænkholm, Anne-Vibeke

AU - Manjer, Jonas

AU - Bengtsson, Ylva

AU - Frederiksen, Kirsten

AU - Friis, Søren

AU - Mellemkjær, Lene

PY - 2025/5

Y1 - 2025/5

N2 - BACKGROUND: Statins have been suggested to protect against breast cancer risk, but the observational evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between statin use and breast cancer incidence among women at higher risk of breast cancer due to a history of benign breast disease (BBD).METHODS: Using Danish registries, we identified cancer-free women aged ≥50 years during 1996-2018 with a history of BBD and no prior statin prescriptions. Using Cox regression, we estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for invasive breast cancer through 2020 with time-varying statin use defined according to continuity, duration, and intensity (estimated average daily dose), derived from prescription data.RESULTS: Among 111,550 women, 7629 were diagnosed with breast cancer during median follow-up of 12.2 years. Overall statin use was not associated with breast cancer incidence (adjusted HR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.93-1.06), with similar associations observed according to continuity and duration of use. However, long-term (≥10 years), high-intensity statin use was associated with a reduced HR of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.60-0.96).CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not indicate an association for overall statin use with breast cancer incidence among women with BBD. The inverse association with long-term, high-dose statin use requires further evaluation.

AB - BACKGROUND: Statins have been suggested to protect against breast cancer risk, but the observational evidence is inconclusive. We examined the association between statin use and breast cancer incidence among women at higher risk of breast cancer due to a history of benign breast disease (BBD).METHODS: Using Danish registries, we identified cancer-free women aged ≥50 years during 1996-2018 with a history of BBD and no prior statin prescriptions. Using Cox regression, we estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for invasive breast cancer through 2020 with time-varying statin use defined according to continuity, duration, and intensity (estimated average daily dose), derived from prescription data.RESULTS: Among 111,550 women, 7629 were diagnosed with breast cancer during median follow-up of 12.2 years. Overall statin use was not associated with breast cancer incidence (adjusted HR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.93-1.06), with similar associations observed according to continuity and duration of use. However, long-term (≥10 years), high-intensity statin use was associated with a reduced HR of 0.75 (95% CI, 0.60-0.96).CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not indicate an association for overall statin use with breast cancer incidence among women with BBD. The inverse association with long-term, high-dose statin use requires further evaluation.

KW - Aged

KW - Breast Diseases/epidemiology

KW - Breast Neoplasms/epidemiology

KW - Cohort Studies

KW - Denmark/epidemiology

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/therapeutic use

KW - Incidence

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Proportional Hazards Models

KW - Registries

KW - Risk Factors

KW - Drugs

KW - Carcinoma

KW - Association

U2 - 10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x

DO - 10.1038/s41416-025-02974-x

M3 - Article

C2 - 40057666

SN - 0007-0920

VL - 132

SP - 828

EP - 836

JO - British Journal of Cancer

JF - British Journal of Cancer

IS - 9

ER -

Statin use and risk of breast cancer among women with benign breast disease: a Danish nationwide cohort study

Abstract

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Keywords

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