Prevention of Cardiovascular Events with Pitavastatin is Associated with Increased Serum Lipoprotein Lipase Mass Level: Subgroup Analysis of the TOHO-LIP

Aim: To clarify the mechanism by which pitavastatin reduced cardiovascular (CV) events more effectively than atorvastatin in the TOHO Lipid Intervention Trial Using Pitavastatin (TOHO-LIP), the changes in (Δ) non-heparinized serum level of lipoprotein lipase mass (LPL mass) during administration of the respective statins were investigated. Methods: From TOHO-LIP data, 223 hypercholesterolemic patients with any CV risks followed at Toho University Sakura Medical Center were analyzed. The patients were randomized to pitavastatin (2 mg/day) group ( n =107) or atorvastatin (10 mg/day) group ( n =116), and followed for 240 weeks. In this subgroup study, the primary and secondary end points were the same as those in TOHO-LIP, and 3-point major adverse cardiovascular events (3P-MACE) was added. The relationship between ΔLPL mass during the first year and the incidences of each end point was analyzed. Results: The lipid-lowering effect was not different between the two statins. Cumulative 240-week incidence of each end point was significantly lower in pitavastatin group (primary: 1.9% vs. 10.3%, secondary: 4.7% vs. 18.1%, 3P-MACE: 0.9% vs. 6.9%). Mean LPL mass (64.9 to 69.0 ng/mL) and eGFR (70.1 to 73.6 ml/min/1.73m (2) ) increased in pitavastatin group, but not in atorvastatin group during the first year. Cox proportional-hazards model revealed that ΔLPL mass (1 ng/mL or 1SD) contributed to almost all end points. Conclusions: Pitavastatin administration reduced CV events more efficaciously than atorvastatin despite similar LDL cholesterol-lowering effect of the two statins. Increased LPL mass during the first year by pitavastatin treatment may be associated with this efficacy.