Propranolol and survival from breast cancer: a pooled analysis of European breast cancer cohorts

Chris R Cardwell; Anton Pottegård; Evelien Vaes; Hans Garmo; Liam J Murray; Chris Brown; Pauline A J Vissers; Michael O'Rorke; Kala Visvanathan; Deirdre Cronin-Fenton; Harlinde De Schutter; Mats Lambe; Des G Powe; Myrthe P P van Herk-Sukel; Anna Gavin; Søren Friis; Linda Sharp; Kathleen Bennett

doi:10.1186/s13058-016-0782-5

Back

Propranolol and survival from breast cancer: a pooled analysis of European breast cancer cohorts

Journal article

Open access

Propranolol and survival from breast cancer: a pooled analysis of European breast cancer cohorts

Chris R Cardwell, Anton Pottegård, Evelien Vaes, Hans Garmo, Liam J Murray, Chris Brown, Pauline A J Vissers, Michael O'Rorke, Kala Visvanathan, Deirdre Cronin-Fenton, …

Breast cancer research : BCR, Vol.18(1), p.119

12/01/2016

DOI: 10.1186/s13058-016-0782-5

PMCID: PMC5133766

PMID: 27906047

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13058-016-0782-5View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that propranolol inhibits several pathways involved in breast cancer progression and metastasis. We investigated whether breast cancer patients who used propranolol, or other non-selective beta-blockers, had reduced breast cancer-specific or all-cause mortality in eight European cohorts. Incident breast cancer patients were identified from eight cancer registries and compiled through the European Cancer Pharmacoepidemiology Network. Propranolol and non-selective beta-blocker use was ascertained for each patient. Breast cancer-specific and all-cause mortality were available for five and eight cohorts, respectively. Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cancer-specific and all-cause mortality by propranolol and non-selective beta-blocker use. HRs were pooled across cohorts using meta-analysis techniques. Dose-response analyses by number of prescriptions were also performed. Analyses were repeated investigating propranolol use before cancer diagnosis. The combined study population included 55,252 and 133,251 breast cancer patients in the analysis of breast cancer-specific and all-cause mortality respectively. Overall, there was no association between propranolol use after diagnosis of breast cancer and breast cancer-specific or all-cause mortality (fully adjusted HR = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.77, 1.16 and HR = 1.09, 95% CI, 0.93, 1.28, respectively). There was little evidence of a dose-response relationship. There was also no association between propranolol use before breast cancer diagnosis and breast cancer-specific or all-cause mortality (fully adjusted HR = 1.03, 95% CI, 0.86, 1.22 and HR = 1.02, 95% CI, 0.94, 1.10, respectively). Similar null associations were observed for non-selective beta-blockers. In this large pooled analysis of breast cancer patients, use of propranolol or non-selective beta-blockers was not associated with improved survival.

Europe

Humans

Propranolol - therapeutic use

Proportional Hazards Models

Angiogenesis Inhibitors - therapeutic use

Breast Neoplasms - mortality

Female

Treatment Outcome

Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists - therapeutic use

Cohort Studies

Details

Title: Subtitle: Propranolol and survival from breast cancer: a pooled analysis of European breast cancer cohorts
Creators: Chris R Cardwell - Institute of Clinical Sciences Block B, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, BT12 6BA, UK. c.cardwell@qub.ac.uk
Anton Pottegård - Department of Public Health, University of South Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Evelien Vaes - Research Department, Belgian Cancer Registry, Brussels, Belgium
Hans Garmo - Regional Cancer Centre Uppsala-Örebro, Uppsala, Sweden
Liam J Murray - Institute of Clinical Sciences Block B, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, BT12 6BA, UK
Chris Brown - National Cancer Registry Ireland, Cork, Ireland
Pauline A J Vissers - Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Michael O'Rorke - Institute of Clinical Sciences Block B, Centre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, BT12 6BA, UK
Kala Visvanathan - Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
Deirdre Cronin-Fenton - Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Harlinde De Schutter - Research Department, Belgian Cancer Registry, Brussels, Belgium
Mats Lambe - Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Des G Powe - Department of Cellular Pathology, Queens Medical Centre, NUH, Nottingham, UK
Myrthe P P van Herk-Sukel - PHARMO Institute for Drug Outcomes Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Anna Gavin - Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Søren Friis - Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark
Linda Sharp - Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Kathleen Bennett - Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Breast cancer research : BCR, Vol.18(1), p.119
DOI: 10.1186/s13058-016-0782-5
PMID: 27906047
PMCID: PMC5133766
NLM abbreviation: Breast Cancer Res
ISSN: 1465-5411
eISSN: 1465-542X
Publisher: England
Grant note: C19630/A13265 / Cancer Research UK
Language: English
Date published: 12/01/2016
Academic Unit: Epidemiology; Pathology
Record Identifier: 9983995001202771

Metrics

22 Record Views

46 Times Cited - Web of Science