Do beta-blockers prevent contralateral breast cancer development?

Denmark: According to a new study, women with breast cancer did not have a protective impact of beta-blocker usage on the incidence of contralateral breast cancer (CBC), regardless of beta-blocker type. This study was conducted by Mathilde Gottschau and the team. The results of this work were published in the International Journal of Cancer on 5th January 2022.

Beta-blockers, commonly known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents, are blood pressure medications. Beta-blockers cause your heart to beat more slowly and forcefully. Antagonism of 2-adrenergic signaling has been shown in preclinical investigations to block numerous pathways required for breast tumor development and metastasis. A number of population-based observational studies were carried out to investigate the relationships between beta-blocker use and breast tumor features at diagnosis.

Researchers used countrywide Danish health registrations and the Danish Breast Cancer Group database to assess post-diagnosis beta-blocker usage and risk of CBC in a cohort of 52 723 women with breast cancer for this study. Post-diagnosis beta-blocker usage was characterized as a time-varying covariate beginning one year after a second prescription was redeemed. The Cox proportional hazards regression method was used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CBC associated with beta-blocker usage versus non-use.

The key findings of this study are as follow:

1. A total of 1444 women with CBC were identified, with 209 of them using beta-blockers.

2. There was an overall HR of 1.08 for beta-blocker usage and CBC risk, with no significant difference according to cumulative quantity, intensity, or selectivity of beta-blocker use.

In conclusion, the data laid out in this study positively indicates the point that there is no such evident effect of beta-blockers be it in terms of positive or negative impact on contralateral breast cancer. Further studies are required for more conclusive data, added the Authors.

Reference:

Gottschau, M., Bens, A., Friis, S., Cronin-Fenton, D., Aalborg, G.L., Jensen, M.-B., Ejlertsen, B., Kroman, N. and Mellemkjær, L. (2022), Use of beta-blockers and risk of contralateral breast cancer. Int. J. Cancer. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33923