Patients with High Genome-Wide Polygenic Risk Scores for Coronary Artery Disease May Receive Greater Clinical Benefit from Alirocumab Treatment in the Odyssey Outcomes Trial

• Background: Alirocumab, an antibody that blocks proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), was associated with reduced major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and death in the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES trial. In this study, higher baseline LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels predicted greater benefit from alirocumab treatment. Recent studies indicate high polygenic risk scores (PRS) for coronary artery disease (CAD) identify individuals at higher risk who derive increased benefit from statins. Herein we perform post hoc analyses to determine whether high PRS for CAD identifies higher-risk individuals, independently from baseline LDLC and other known risk factors, who might derive greater benefit from alirocumab treatment. Methods: ODYSSEY OUTCOMES was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial comparing alirocumab or placebo in 18,924 patients with acute coronary syndrome and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite optimized statin treatment. The primary endpoint (MACE) comprised death from CAD, nonfatal myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or unstable angina requiring hospitalization. A genome-wide PRS for CAD comprising 6,579,025 genetic variants was evaluated in 11,953 patients with available DNA samples. Analysis of MACE risk was performed in placebo treated patients while treatment benefit analysis was performed in all patients. Results: The incidence of MACE in the placebo group was related to PRS for CAD: 17.0% for high PRS patients (>90th percentile) and 11.4% for lower PRS patients (≤90th percentile) (p<0.001); this PRS relationship was not explained by baseline LDL-C or other established risk factors. Both the absolute and relative reduction of MACE by alirocumab compared to placebo was greater in high versus low PRS patients. There was an absolute reduction by alirocumab in high versus low PRS groups of 6.0% and 1.5%, respectively, and relative risk reduction by alirocumab of 37% in the high PRS group (hazard ratio [HR] 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46-0.86; p = 0.004) versus 13% reduction in the low PRS group (HR 0.87; 95% CI 0.78-0.98; p=0.022; interaction p = 0.04). Conclusions: A high PRS for CAD is associated with elevated risk for recurrent MACE after ACS, and larger absolute and relative risk reduction with alirocumab treatment, providing an independent tool for risk stratification and precision medicine.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Kardiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

cardiovascular disease

genetics

genomics

polygenic inheritance

pharmacogenomics

proprotein convertase

subtilisin-kexin type 9

risk factors

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