Do Statins Affect Risk for Developing Hepatic Decompensation and Hepatocellular Carcinoma?

Observational studies have suggested that patients with chronic liver disease who take statins have lower risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; e.g., NEJM JW Gastroenterol Oct 2019 and Ann Intern Med 2019; 171:318). Many of these studies, however, were from outside the U.S. and focused on patients with specific causes of liver disease, such as viral hepatitis.

To better understand this association, researchers used data from 10 Boston hospitals to study 16,500 patients with various types of chronic liver disease (primarily metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease [MASLD], viral hepatitis, and alcoholic hepatitis). Patients (age, ≥40) had intermediate- or high-risk fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) scores. Those who used statins had signif…