In vitro Anti-Tumor Effects of Statins on Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Statins are commonly used against arteriosclerotic disease, but recent retrospective analyses have suggested that statins also prevent cancer. The aim of this systematic review is to verify the vitro anti-tumor effects of statins on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: Studies were gathered by searching Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and PubMed, up until May 9, 2015, with no time or language restrictions. Only in vitro studies that discuss the effect of statins on head and neck carcinoma were selected. RESULTS: Of 153 identified papers, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies demonstrated that statins had a significant effect on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines and influenced cell viability, cell cycle, cell death, and protein expression levels involved in pathways of carcinogenesis, which corroborates with the potential in vitro anti-tumor effects. It provides highlights about the biological mechanisms of statins used alone or associated with traditional therapy for cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Though there are few studies on the topic, currently available evidence suggests that statins shows that preclinical experiments supports the potentiality of statin as an adjuvant agent in chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy approaches routinely used in the management of HNSCC and should undergo further clinical assessment.