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mevalonate pathway→Rho GTPase disruption→apoptosis
Statins suppress ovarian cancer cell growth through mevalonate pathway inhibition, Rho GTPase disruption, and induction of apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Evidence is primarily preclinical with some observational clinical data, and no large RCTs have established clinical efficacy. This is a genuine experimental repurposing candidate with plausible mechanistic rationale.
“The molecular mechanism by which statins suppress ovarian cancer cell growth was evaluated.”
— Statins induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells through activation of JNK and enhancement of Bim expression. (2008)DOI“The experimental studies have demonstrated that some statins have an anticancer effect against ovarian cancer in vitro and in vivo , however, the potential molecular mechanism is still unclear.”
— Comprehensive Analysis of Differential Gene Expression Profile via RNA Sequencing in the Human Ovarian Cancer SKOV3 Cells Treated with Simvastatin (2022)DOI“We provide evidence of statins' mechanisms of cytotoxicity in different ovarian cancer cells and discovered a new approach to significantly enhance the anti-tumor activity of statins.”
— Oxysterols synergize with statins by inhibiting SREBP-2 in ovarian cancer cells. (2014)DOI“Our findings provide new insight into the molecular mechanism by which statins induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells and may lead to novel therapies for advanced ovarian cancer.”
— Statins induce apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells through activation of JNK and enhancement of Bim expression. (2008)DOI“Given the consistency of this finding in the literature, we recommend a randomized clinical trial of statin use in people with ovarian cancer.”
— Cardiovascular medications and survival in people with ovarian cancer: A population-based cohort study from British Columbia, Canada. (2021)DOI“Use of statins may confer a survival benefit for women with ovarian cancer but it is impossible to rule out bias in observational studies.”
— Statin use and survival among women with ovarian cancer: an Australian national data-linkage study. (2021)DOI“The Role of Lipophilic Statins in Reducing Epithelial Ovarian Cancer”
— The Role of Lipophilic Statins in Reducing Epithelial Ovarian Cancer (2020)DOI“Statin use was associated with lower risks of endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer (endometrial cancer: OR/RR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.94, I = 62.3%, p = 0.001; ovarian cancer: OR/RR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.00, I = 42.1%, p = 0.077).”
— Association between statin use and the risk, prognosis of gynecologic cancer: A meta-analysis. (2021)DOI“Future clinical trials based on the expression of the biomarkers identified in this study for repurposing statins for ovarian cancer treatment are warranted.”
— Response Predictive Markers and Synergistic Agents for Drug Repositioning of Statins in Ovarian Cancer. (2022)DOI“Abstract A18: Evaluating the potential to repurpose statins for ovarian cancer therapy”
— Abstract A18: Evaluating the potential to repurpose statins for ovarian cancer therapy (2020)DOI“Enhancing Immunotherapy in Ovarian Cancer: The Emerging Role of Metformin and Statins.”
— Enhancing Immunotherapy in Ovarian Cancer: The Emerging Role of Metformin and Statins. (2023)DOI“There are few pharmacological alternatives for managing chemoresistant ovarian cancer and statins have been suggested as an alternative, but their use is considered controversial.”
— Statins as adjuvants in the treatment of ovarian cancer: Controversy and misunderstanding. (2021)DOI“Statin as repurposed drug in Ovarian Cancer: A comprehensive review.”
— Statin as repurposed drug in Ovarian Cancer: A comprehensive review. (2023)DOI“Most women with ovarian cancer have a poor prognosis, but studies have reported an association between statin use and improved survival.”
— Statin use and survival following a diagnosis of ovarian cancer: A prospective observational study. (2020)DOI“The evidence involving a potential survival benefit from statin use in ovarian cancer remains controversial, especially with hydrophilic statins (e.g. pravastatin).”
— Statin use and ovarian cancer Outcomes. (2024)DOI“The relationship between statin use and clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer (OC) remains controversial, as previous assessments of the relationship between statin use and OC prognosis have yielded inconsistent results.”
— Statin use improves the prognosis of ovarian cancer: An updated and comprehensive meta-analysis. (2022)DOI“We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting associations between statin use and ovarian cancer risk in PubMed.”
— Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies assessing the relationship between statin use and risk of ovarian cancer. (2020)DOI“Impact of metformin, statins, and beta blockers on survival in patients with primary ovarian cancer: combined analysis of four prospective trials of AGO-OVAR and ENGOT/GCIG collaborators.”
— Impact of metformin, statins, and beta blockers on survival in patients with primary ovarian cancer: combined analysis of four prospective trials of AGO-OVAR and ENGOT/GCIG collaborators. (2025)DOI“This study determined that statin use reduced the incidence risk of OC and significantly increased the survival in OC patients.”
— Do statins play any role in reducing the incidence and mortality of ovarian cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis. (2020)DOI“Use of statins and risk of ovarian cancer: evidence on effect modification by parity, menopause and endometriosis from nationwide nested case-control studies.”
— Use of statins and risk of ovarian cancer: evidence on effect modification by parity, menopause and endometriosis from nationwide nested case-control studies. (2025)DOI“Because ovarian cancer is a highly heterogeneous tumor, it may be a good choice to deeply understand the mechanism of statins in the treatment of ovarian cancer and achieve precise treatment by combining it with other drugs.”
— Advances in ovarian cancer treatment using a combination of statins with other drugs. (2023)DOI“Abstract 5782: Lipophilic Statins show promise for treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer”
— Abstract 5782: Lipophilic Statins show promise for treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (2020)DOI“Statins (HMGCR blockers), lonafarnib (farnesyltransferase inhibitors), the anti-inflammatory drug aspirin, and the anti-malarial drug adiponectin all have potential therapeutic roles in ovarian cancer treatment.”
— Drug repositioning and ovarian cancer, a study based on Mendelian randomisation analysis. (2024)DOI“Statins exert antitumor effects via various mechanisms.”
— Simvastatin Enhances the Radiosensitivity of Androgen-independent Prostate Cancer Cells Inhibition of RAD51 Expression. (2024)DOI“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.”
— Statins: HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors as Potential Anticancer Agents against Malignant Neoplasms in Women. (2020)DOI“Human ovarian cancer cell lines (IGROV-1, A2780, A2780cis) were treated with increasing concentrations (0.5-100 μM) of statins (simvastatin, atorvastatin, rosuvastatin) and zoledronic acid.”
— Anti-tumor effects of mevalonate pathway inhibition in ovarian cancer. (2020)DOI“Preclinical and epidemiological studies indicate a potential chemopreventive role of statins in epithelial ovarian cancer risk.”
— Association Between Genetically Proxied Inhibition of HMG-CoA Reductase and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer. (2020)DOI“Statins could be linked to reduced risk of ovarian cancer, researchers find”
— Statins could be linked to reduced risk of ovarian cancer, researchers find (2020)DOI“The Role of Statins in the Prevention of Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers.”
— The Role of Statins in the Prevention of Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers. (2023)DOI