Widely used blood pressure drugs may increase death risk in breast cancer

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A recent study at Flinders University found a link between beta-blockers and survival outcomes in some breast cancer patients.

Beta-blockers, commonly used to manage high blood pressure, were linked to worse survival outcomes in patients with HER2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2) positive advanced breast cancer.

In the study, the team used data from 2,777 patients. They found worse survival outcomes for patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer who used beta-blocker drugs.

The findings highlight a group of breast cancer patients whose survival outcomes are profoundly poorer.

About 20% of breast cancer patients overexpress HER2, and cardiovascular toxicities are a known complication of anti-HER2 therapies.

This study importantly shows a subgroup of patients in which the team recommends further tests to find strategies to improve treatment outcomes.

The researchers say that future research should aim to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of beta-blockers on specific breast cancer subtypes, cancer types, and cancer treatments.

If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that drinking tea could help lower blood pressure, and early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure.

If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.

The study was conducted by Professor Michael Sorich et al and published in Frontiers In Oncology.

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