Cholesterol medicine trial brings hope to cancer survivors
Monash University’s Victorian Heart Institute and Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials are leading an Australian-first trial to determine if a common cholesterol medication can reduce the risk of heart attacks in melanoma patients treated with cancer therapy.
Advanced melanoma used to have an expected survival of less than one year, but now thanks to immunotherapy more than 50 per cent of patients are classified as cured or living with melanoma as a chronic disease, rather than a fatal condition.
“Immunotherapy stimulates the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells and has been a game changer for cancer treatment,” said research lead Dr Sean Tan.
“Cardiologists discovered with cancer survivors now living longer, they were more at risk of heart attacks once the threat of cancer had passed.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in people who survive cancer, and patients who undergo immunotherapy as part of their treatment are five times more likely to suffer a heart attack.
The SOCRATES trial will investigate whether statins, a common and cheap cholesterol-lowering medication, can reduce the risk of heart attacks in melanoma patients when given immunotherapy.
Director of the Monash Victorian Heart Institute and Victorian Heart Hospital, Professor Stephen Nicholls said if the trial was a success, doctors would have a way to reduce or even prevent heart disease in patients with melanoma, with a treatment that was cheap, safe and widely available. No
The trial, which is running at Monash Health, Cabrini Hospital and across Australia, is a unique collaboration between different medical specialties - cardiology, oncology, and dermatology.
Monash Health patient, Jennifer Curtis, has stage 2C melanoma and will need 17 sessions of immunotherapy.
“When you’re told you’re dealing with cancer you don’t think about what these drugs will do down the track,” she said.
Jennifer will take part in the trial with 200 participants.
About the Monash Victorian Heart Institute
Monash University is transforming the future of cardiovascular health – for Australia and for the world. We’re committed to shaping global knowledge about cardiovascular disease, including how to better prevent it, better detect it, and better treat it. And we’re applying this knowledge across every facet of cardiovascular care.
Across Monash we embed research, health care and discovery into our approach, and bring labside knowledge to bedside practice to drive tangible changes for patient outcomes for the betterment of all communities.
The Monash Victorian Heart Institute reflects our University-wide commitment to collaborative heart health solutions. We are focused on delivering excellence in research, education and training, to change the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Australia.
Read thought leadership pieces about the University’s work with cardiovascular health.
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