ICIs plus statins may extend survival in cancer patients

Treatment with statins combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors, is associated with improved survival in cancer patients, according to a study.

A team of investigators reviewed the charts of patients with select cancers who received PD-1 and/or PD-L1 inhibitors and statins. They compared the incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and overall survival (OS) between patients who received the combination therapy and those who received ICIs without statins.

A total of 823 patients were included in the statin group, of whom 707 received PD-1 inhibitors, 86 received PD-L1 inhibitors, and 30 received both. Participants treated with any statins (10.8 percent) and those treated with high-intensity statins (15.8 percent) experienced higher rates of GI irAEs than those not taking statins (8.7 percent; p=0.046 and p=0.006, respectively).

The use of statins, however, resulted in improved OS for patients taking PD-1 inhibitors (p<0.001) and for those with (p=0.021) and without (p<0.001) GI irAEs when compared with nonuse of statins.

“Synergism of statins with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors continues to be a developing field of interest. Our data demonstrate the survival benefit of combination therapy with PD-1 and/or PD-L1 inhibitors and statins, warranting further investigation,” the investigators said. 

ICIs have been approved for the treatment of several cancer, and recent studies suggest that ICIs and statins are “synergistic,” according to the investigators.