Statins as a Combatant for Treatment of Glioblastoma

Abstract

The competitive HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) inhibitors, commonly referred to as "statins," have been shown in preclinical tests to have promise anticancer characteristics in addition to being potent medications that lower cholesterol and lower cardiovascular risk. When combined with other cancer treatment strategies, statins seem to improve the treatment outcome for a variety of malignancies. After surgical resection followed by concomitant radiation and chemotherapy, the median overall survival (OS) for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a particularly lethal cerebral tumour, is only about one year. Due to their capacity to inhibit cell growth, survival, migration, metastasis, inflammation, and angiogenesis in both in vitro and in vivo investigations, statins have recently come to light as prospective adjuvant medications for the treatment of GBM. Statins' therapeutic effects on the survival of GBM patients are still debatable, though. When just focusing on the treatment of cancer, specifically GBM, this study intends to analyse and address some of the known effects of statin medicines, including concurrent statin therapy with chemotherapeutic agents. Keywords: statin, glioblastoma, brain tumor, antitumor, cholesterol, apoptosis.