Statin use and risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer: A nationwide study in Denmark

Abstract

Background: Evidence is conflicting regarding statin use and risk of basal cell (BCC) and squamous cell skin cancer (SCC). Methods: Using Danish nationwide registries, we identified all patients with incident BCC/SCC during 2005-2009 and matched them to population controls. We computed odds ratios (ORs) for BCC and SCC associated with statin use. Results: We identified 38 484 cases of BCC and 3724 cases of SCC. Statin ever use was associated with ORs of 1.09 (CI: 1.06-1.13) for BCC and 1.01 (CI: 0.91-1.11) for SCC. Conclusions: Statin use was not associated with risk of SCC. Residual confounding plausibly explains the marginally increased risk of BCC.