Published June 30, 2022
Statins may improve outcomes for patients with renal cell carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a type of kidney cancer, is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers of the urinary tract, and its incidence is predicted to increase. Recurrence and metastasis (spread to secondary locations) occurs in about 30% of patients after treatment, and some patients are resistant to the newer targeted and immunotherapies. Researchers are trying to figure out what factors may influence a patient’s prognosis with RCC, as well as what may affect their response to therapy.
Medication patients are taking at the time of treatment may influence their response to immunotherapy and other treatments. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, for example, have been found to negatively impact immunotherapy response.
But what about common preventive medications prescribed for millions of people around the world? Statins are commonly used for the prevention of cardiovascular events among adults aged 40 and older without a history of cardiovascular disease, but with one or more risk factors, like high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure. In recent years, a series of studies have focused on the potential role of statins in reducing the risk of developing RCC and improving overall survival in patients with localized RCC who underwent surgery. There has not been as much research into the drugs’ impact on immunotherapy response, especially in patients with metastatic disease.
Marc I Matrana, MD, director of the Precision Cancer Therapies (Phase I) Research Program, endowed professor of Experimental Therapeutics and associate director of Clinical Cancer Research at the Ochsner Cancer Institute, was part of a team that authored “Statin use improves the efficacy of nivolumab in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma,” published in the European Journal of Cancer.
In the study, the researchers collected retrospective data from 10 institutions in Italy, Spain and the United States, seeking to assess the relationship between statin exposure and the efficacy of immunotherapy drug nivolumab in patients with pre-treated metastatic RCC.
In the overall study population, the median overall survival and progression-free survival were apparently longer in statin users than non-users when they were prescribed nivolumab, administered as second- or third-line therapy for their metastatic RCC. Based on their results, Dr. Matrana and his fellow researchers say clinical trials investigating the role of statins in patients with mRCC treated by immunotherapy or immuno-oncology combinations are needed.
