Could statins represent a new frontier for improving outcomes with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer

Hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer represents a significant subset of breast cancer patients, many of whom undergo neoadjuvant therapy. However, treatment responses in this patient population are often suboptimal. In our study, we aimed to investigate the potential contribution of statins to the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in this group. We included 60 patients treated between 2014 and 2025, with 38 non-statin users and 22 statin users. While no statistically significant difference in pathological complete response rates was observed across the entire cohort, a significant difference was found when focusing on post-menopausal patients. Evaluating our study results in the context of the existing literature, we suggest that statins may have the potential to enhance the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. However, further investigations are needed to explore the role of statins not only in this specific setting but also in terms of treatment efficacy, recurrence prevention, and potential preventive applications in breast cancer.