Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

MDPI, Pharmaceuticals, 12(13), p. 422, 2020

DOI: 10.3390/ph13120422

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Statins: HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Agents against Malignant Neoplasms in Women

Journal article published in 2020 by Anna Markowska, Michał Antoszczak ORCID, Janina Markowska, Adam Huczyński ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Statins, also known as HMG-CoA inhibitors, are a class of bioactive small molecules that efficiently reduce the levels of cholesterol, and therefore are commonly used to manage and prevent various cardiovascular diseases. With respect to their original medical indications, statins are currently in the group of the most prescribed drugs worldwide. Of note is that statins are perceived actually rather as agents that have pleiotropic activities; in addition to their inhibitory activity on the production of endogenous cholesterol. Statins may also affect cell proliferation, angiogenesis and/or migration (metastasis) of different cancer cells, and play a positive role in the chemoprevention of cancer, thus being the excellent candidates to be repurposed in oncology. Particularly intriguing in this context seems to be the promising role of statins on both the incidence and course of common malignant neoplasms in women. In this article, we review and discuss the effect of the use of statins in the treatment of three types of cancer, i.e., breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer, with the highest mortality among gynecological cancers.