A December 2020 study revealed that high doses of statins (lipid-lowering medications) have a synergistic effect on PD-1 immunotherapy treatments yielding better clinical outcomes for pleural mesothelioma and advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients.

The study involved statins taken in combination with Opdivo by patients receiving second or third-line treatment. The response rate was 22% for patients receiving Opdivo and statins vs. 6% for those not receiving statins. Progression-free survival was 6.7 months vs. 2.3 months respectively. A control group of patients who received statins with chemotherapy no increase in response or survival rates.