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

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.