Beta-blockers are a class of medications that are predominantly used to manage abnormal heart rhythms, and to protect the heart from a second heart attack after a first heart attack.
In a study from Flinders University, scientists found a link between beta-blockers and survival outcomes in some breast cancer patients.
They found the drugs were linked to worse survival outcomes in patients with HER2 (Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2) positive advanced breast cancer.
Beta-blockers can block the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline.
Beta-blockers make the heart beat more slowly and with less force, which lowers blood pressure. Beta-blockers also help widen veins and arteries to improve blood flow.
In the study, researchers 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 about how fasting may help reverse high blood pressure, and this olive oil could reduce blood pressure in healthy people.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about why people with high blood pressure more likely to have severe COVID-19, and results showing this 5-minute exercise can reduce high blood pressure.
The study was conducted by Professor Michael Sorich et al and published in Frontiers In Oncology.
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