A prospective study done by Celine Bourgier and colleagues from Université de Montpellier, France; .showed that pravastatin (a statin) is an efficient antifibrotic agent in patients with established cutaneous and subcutaneous radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) after radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
The primary endpoint was reduction of RIF thickness by more than 30% at 12 months, as measured by cutaneous high-frequency ultrasonography. Secondary endpoints included RIF severity reduction, pravastatin tolerance, and quality of life.
Sixty patients were enrolled from February 2011 to
April 2016. The mean interval between RIF diagnosis and pravastatin initiation
was 17.1 months. Pravastatin was stopped before 11 months of treatment in 18
patients (because of grade ≥2 adverse events related to pravastatin in 8
patients [13%]). In the 40 patients in whom pravastatin efficacy was assessed
by high-frequency ultrasonography at baseline and at 12 months of treatment, a
reduction of RIF thickness ≥30% was observed in 15 of 42 patients (35.7%). At the 12-month clinical evaluation, RIF
severity was decreased in 50% of patients (n = 21), and the patients' self-perception, mood state, and social
functioning were significantly improved. Pravastatin was well tolerated.
