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

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.