Statin Use, Heart Radiation Dose, and Survival in Locally Advanced Lung Cancer

Patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) have a high prevalence of pre-existing coronary heart disease and face excess cardiac risk after thoracic radiation therapy. We sought to assess whether statin therapy is a predictor of overall survival (OS) after thoracic radiation therapy.

We performed a retrospective analysis of 748 patients with LA-NSCLC treated with thoracic radiation therapy, using Kaplan-Meier OS estimates and Cox regression.

Statin use among high cardiac risk patients (Framingham risk ≥20% or pre-existing coronary heart disease; n = 496) was 51.2%. After adjustment for baseline cardiac risk and other prognostic factors, statin therapy was associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.91; P = .048) but not major adverse cardiac events (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.52-2.68; P = .69). Among statin-naïve patients, mean heart dose ≥10 Gy versus <10 Gy was associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.04-1.68; P = .022), with 2-year OS estimates of 46.9% versus 60.0%, respectively. However, OS did not differ by heart dose among patients on statin therapy (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.76-1.32; P = 1.00; P-interaction = .031), with 2-year OS estimates of 46.9% versus 50.3%, respectively.

Among patients with LA-NSCLC, only half of statin-eligible high cardiac risk patients were on statin therapy, reflecting the highest cardiac risk level of our cohort. Statin use was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality but not major adverse cardiac events. Elevated mean heart dose (≥10 Gy) was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality in statin-naïve patients but not among those on statin therapy, identifying a group of patients in which early intervention with statins may mitigate the deleterious effects of high heart radiation therapy dose. This warrants evaluation in prospective trials.