Phase 2 Study of Atorvastatin Safety and Antitumor Effects in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Atorvastatin has been shown to decrease levels of active oncogenes in preclinical studies with murine and human lymphoma cell lines, and administration of statins leads to shrinkage of lymphoma in murine models. Therefore, it may be possible for atorvastatin to decrease levels of active oncogenes in human lymphomas. Further, upon decrease in levels of active oncogenes, human lymphomas may regress. Atorvastatin is a commonly prescribed drug for hypercholesterolemia: targeting the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase enzyme may also be a way to decrease activation of oncogenes in human lymphoma, with minimal toxicity. For human low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma, no curative treatment is available; therefore new, non-toxic and targeted therapies are sought for this disease.