Recent retrospective study published in Annals Of Oncology made me sit up and notice beta blockers closely.
Beta blockers are predominantly used as anti-hypertensive and anti-arrhythmic drug. They are also used to control tremors in Parkinson's disease. But here i am talking about its role in improving survival of lung cancer and breast cancer patients.
The article in Annals of Oncology from M D Anderson Cancer Center estimates a 22% improvement in median overall survival for those who took beta blockers.This was in a cohort of patients who had received definitive radiotherapy. The molecular mechanism being hypothesized for the benefit from beta blocker should improve survival for all kinds of lung cancer patients. There is a need to do a prospective study but practitioners and patients should explore the use of beta blockers considering the data available for its safety.
Improvement in overall survival is not a small thing when most new costly agents struggle to show meaningful difference in progression free survival!
Reach out today to your doctor and if you are a doctor read more and start thinking!!
The benefit of beta blocker is also there for patients having breast cancer and melanoma.
References:
1. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/777342
2. http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/01/01/annonc.mds616.full
3. http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/29/19/2635.abstract?ijkey=dc966043b03d255244605330d386a363baad8d7a&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
4. http://www.nature.com/nrclinonc/journal/v8/n9/full/nrclinonc.2011.123.html
Conflict of Interest None.
There may be publication bias but asking questions and searching available data can help us in using old weapons against new targets. Academic institutes can do this kind of study.
Beta blockers are predominantly used as anti-hypertensive and anti-arrhythmic drug. They are also used to control tremors in Parkinson's disease. But here i am talking about its role in improving survival of lung cancer and breast cancer patients.
The article in Annals of Oncology from M D Anderson Cancer Center estimates a 22% improvement in median overall survival for those who took beta blockers.This was in a cohort of patients who had received definitive radiotherapy. The molecular mechanism being hypothesized for the benefit from beta blocker should improve survival for all kinds of lung cancer patients. There is a need to do a prospective study but practitioners and patients should explore the use of beta blockers considering the data available for its safety.
Improvement in overall survival is not a small thing when most new costly agents struggle to show meaningful difference in progression free survival!
Reach out today to your doctor and if you are a doctor read more and start thinking!!
The benefit of beta blocker is also there for patients having breast cancer and melanoma.
References:
1. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/777342
2. http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/01/01/annonc.mds616.full
3. http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/29/19/2635.abstract?ijkey=dc966043b03d255244605330d386a363baad8d7a&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
4. http://www.nature.com/nrclinonc/journal/v8/n9/full/nrclinonc.2011.123.html
Conflict of Interest None.
There may be publication bias but asking questions and searching available data can help us in using old weapons against new targets. Academic institutes can do this kind of study.
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