Disputable questions of statins antitumor effects in hemoblastoses

Abstract

Antitumor drug treatment of hemoblastoses always takes into account the patient comorbidity. Due to the frequent cardiovascular pathology and atherosclerosis, patients have to take statins along with antitumor treatment. Experimental studies have shown that statins inhibit the cholesterol synthesis (necessary for the vital activity of malignant cells), isoprenylation of the RAS and RHO oncogenes, and the proliferation of leukemic cells. In addition, the potentiation of antitumor drugs effect by statins, sensitization of leukemia and lymphomas cells to their effects were noted. when conducting a meta-analysis, it was found that mortality among patients with hematological malignancies taking statins is lower compared with the group of patients not receiving statins. This fact is probably explained not only by the improvement in cholesterol metabolism, but also by indirect antitumor effects of this group of drugs.

Keywords

• apoptosis
• hemoblastosis
• malignancy
• leukemia
• mevalonate pathway
• prenylation
• statins
• cholesterol