- Home
- Medical news & Guidelines
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology and CTVS
- Critical Care
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Diabetes and Endocrinology
- ENT
- Gastroenterology
- Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Obstretics-Gynaecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedics
- Pediatrics-Neonatology
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Laboratory Medicine
- Diet
- Nursing
- Paramedical
- Physiotherapy
- Health news
- Fact Check
- Bone Health Fact Check
- Brain Health Fact Check
- Cancer Related Fact Check
- Child Care Fact Check
- Dental and oral health fact check
- Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
- Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
- Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
- Fitness fact check
- Gut health fact check
- Heart health fact check
- Kidney health fact check
- Medical education fact check
- Men's health fact check
- Respiratory fact check
- Skin and hair care fact check
- Vaccine and Immunization fact check
- Women's health fact check
- AYUSH
- State News
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chandigarh
- Chattisgarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Delhi
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Ladakh
- Lakshadweep
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Odisha
- Puducherry
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Telangana
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttrakhand
- West Bengal
- Medical Education
- Industry
Blood pressure drugs don't carry cancer risk: Study
The risk of cancer from antihypertensive drugs has been much debated for more than 40 years, with inconsistent or conflicting findings. Recent study findings presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2020 suggest that there is no link between the use of antihypertensives and risk of cancer.
"Our results should reassure the public about the safety of antihypertensive drugs with respect to cancer, which is of paramount importance given their proven benefit for protecting against heart attacks and strokes," said study author Ms Emma Copland, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
It was the largest study on cancer outcomes in participants of randomised trials investigating antihypertensive medication. Researchers enrolled around 260,000 people from 31 trials. They recorded the incidence of cancer from reports of investigators. Much of this information has not been published before, making the current analysis the most detailed yet.
The study team investigated five antihypertensive drug classes separately: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers (CCBs), and diuretics. They estimated the effect of each drug class on following criteria:
• The risk of developing any type of cancer.
• The risk of death from cancer.
• The risk of developing breast, colorectal, lung, prostate and skin cancers.
They also examined differences according to age, gender, body size, smoking status and previous antihypertensive medication use before taking part in the trial.
During an average of four years, they found around 15,000 new diagnoses of cancer. They compared each drug class against all other control groups, including placebo, standard treatment and other drug classes and found no evidence to support the association between the use of antihypertensives and risk of cancer. This finding was consistent regardless of age, gender, body size, smoking status and previous antihypertensive medication use.
Researchers report that the hazard ratio (HR) for any cancer was 0.99 with ACE inhibitors, 0.97 with ARBs, 0.98 with beta-blockers, 1.06 with CCBs and 1.01 with diuretics. They noted no important effect of any individual drug class on overall cancer risk. Similarly, they found no evidence that any type of antihypertensive medication affecting the probability of developing breast, colorectal, lung, prostate or skin cancer. They also observed no indication in an increased risk of cancer with longer duration use of antihypertensives.
Ms Copland concluded, "Our study has addressed an ongoing controversy about whether antihypertensive medication increases the risk of developing cancer. We used the largest individual-level randomised evidence on antihypertensive medication to date and provide evidence for the safety of blood pressure-lowering drugs in relation to cancer".
For further information:
Dr Kartikeya Kohli is an Internal Medicine Consultant at Sitaram Bhartia Hospital in Delhi with super speciality training in Nephrology. He has worked with various eminent hospitals like Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Sir Gangaram Hospital. He holds an MBBS from Kasturba Medical College Manipal, DNB Internal Medicine, Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Research and Business Development, Fellow DNB Nephrology, MRCP and ECFMG Certification. He has been closely associated with India Medical Association South Delhi Branch and Delhi Medical Association and has been organising continuing medical education programs on their behalf from time to time. Further he has been contributing medical articles for their newsletters as well. He is also associated with electronic media and TV for conduction and presentation of health programs. He has been associated with Medical Dialogues for last 3 years and contributing articles on regular basis.
Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751