In a nutshell
This review analyzed the association between breast cancer recurrence (return of the cancer) and the use of drugs for lowering blood pressure (beta blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers).
Some background
Many breast cancer patients also have other concurrent conditions such as high blood pressure (hypertenssion). There are many drugs used for the treatment of hypertension, some of which have been thought to have anticancer properties. Beta-Blockers (BB), Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEI) and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARB) are types of blood pressure lowering drugs that have been studied in relation to breast cancer outcomes. However, there is no clear data on the association between the use of these drugs and the risk of developing breast cancer recurrence.
Methods & findings
This review included 18733 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Among these patients there were 3660, 3075, 1989 users of BB, ACEI and ARB, respectively. Patients were followed up for a 10 year period and the main parameter evaluated was the occurrence of breast cancer recurrence. Results showed that 12.8% of the patients on BB experienced cancer recurrence. Also, 10.7% of the patients using ACEI and 10.9% of ARB users experienced a recurrence.
The bottom line
In summary, this analysis showed no evidence of a protective effect of BB, ACEI and ARB on cancer recurrence in patients with breast cancer.
What’s next?
Published By :
Journal of clinical oncology
Date :
May 06, 2013
