Statin therapy: improving survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and portal hypertension is possible?

Statins are generally known for their lipid-lowering properties and protection against cardiovascular events. However, growing evidence suggests that statins are a promising treatment for patients with chronic liver disease. Specifically, there is data supporting their role in reducing portal pressure and having a chemopreventive effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Treatment options for HCC remain limited with portal hypertension (PH), thus statins could represent an inexpensive alternative, increasing survival of patients with HCC and PH. These drugs cannot be considered standard of care without a cardiac-metabolic indication to prescription in this patient group, although the potential beneficial effect should be indication for prompt use whenever considered appropriate. Our aim is to review the effects of statins on PH and on HCC, both in the pre-clinical and clinical setting in literature, discussing safety issues and limitations to the current body of evidence.

Keywords: chemoprevention, hepatic venous portal gradient, cardiovascular events.