Statins Reduce Mortality in Multiple Myeloma: A Population-Based US Study

Although recent literature supports the use of statins in multiple myeloma, it is unclear if statins improve the survival of patients being treated with modern-day myeloma regimens. We enrolled 5922 veterans with multiple myeloma in a retrospective cohort study to answer this question. Our results support the survival benefit of statins in multiple myeloma irrespective of the treatment regimen. Background: We studied the effect of statins on mortality in a nationally representative sample of patients with multiple myeloma, and explored the benefit of statins in a subgroup of patients treated with novel agents. Methods: Patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 2007 and 2013 were identified in the SEER-Medicare database using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-03 codes. ICD-9 and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes were used to identify comorbidities and treatments. We assessed the association of statins with mortality in patients with multiple myeloma using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. For subanalysis, we used the same statistical technique to investigate the effect of statins on mortality in myeloma patients treated with novel agents. Results: A total of 5922 patients were diagnosed with multiple myeloma within the study period. Use of statins was associated with 21% reduction in risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74-0.84) among all patients with multiple myeloma. Among the patents treated with novel agents (n = 3603), statins reduced mortality by 10% (aHR = 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.98). Conclusions: Use of statins is likely associated with lower mortality in patients with multiple myeloma. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.