Statin use improves the efficacy of nivolumab in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma

Statins are widely used in an ageing population, including subjects with solid malignancies. However, no conclusive evidence is currently available on their potential influence on patients' outcome. We aimed to assess whether statin exposure affects the survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with nivolumab.

Medical records of patients with documented mRCC treated with second- or third-line nivolumab were reviewed at ten institutions from Italy, Spain and the USA. Patients were assessed for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall clinical benefit. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore the association of variables of interest with survival.

A total of 219 patients with mRCC receiving nivolumab between January 2016 and September 2021 were eligible for inclusion in this study; 59 (27%) were statin users. The median OS (34.4 versus 18.6 months, p = 0.017) and PFS (11.7 versus 4.6 months, p = 0.013) resulted apparently longer in statin users. Stratified by age, longer median OS and PFS were associated with statin exposure in both patients aged ≥70 y (median OS: 21.4 versus 10.1 months, p = 0.047; median PFS: 16.4 versus 4.6 months, p = 0.022) and <70 y (median OS: 34.4 versus 21.4 months, p = 0.043; median PFS: 10.3 versus 4.6 months, p = 0.042). Overall clinical benefit resulted higher in statin users than non-users (71% versus 54%, p = 0.030).

Our study suggests a prognostic impact of statin use in patients receiving nivolumab for mRCC.