BACKGROUND: Previous studies have been interpreted as suggesting an increase in risk of cancer among users of calcium-channel blockers compared with users of beta-blockers. To explore this issue further, we studied a large group of hypertensive patients to investigate the relation of calcium-channel blockers and cancer. METHODS: In cohorts of users of calcium-channel blockers, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and beta-blockers, we identified all cases of cancer diagnosed in 1995. We used a nested case-control analysis to estimate the risk of cancer among users of calcium-channel blockers and ACE inhibitors, with users of beta-blockers as a reference group. The study was based on information taken from the General Practice Research Database, and the study population was restricted to patients with at least 4 years of medical history recorded on computer. FINDINGS: The study was based on 446 cases of cancer and 1750 controls. The relative risk estimates for all cancers combined were 1.27 (95% CI 0.98-1.63) and 0.79 (0.58-1.06) for users of calcium-channel blockers and ACE inhibitors, respectively, relative to users of beta-blockers. There was little difference in risk estimates with duration of use of calcium-channel blockers of less than 1.0 year (relative risk 1.46), 1.0-3.9 years (1.26), and 4.0 years or more (1.23). INTERPRETATION: The small positive association between calcium-channel blockers and risk of cancer is unlikely to be causal since there is no increase in risk with increasing duration of calcium-channel blocker use.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have been interpreted as suggesting an increase in risk of cancer among users of calcium-channel blockers compared with users of beta-blockers. To explore this issue further, we studied a large group of hypertensivepatients to investigate the relation of calcium-channel blockers and cancer. METHODS: In cohorts of users of calcium-channel blockers, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and beta-blockers, we identified all cases of cancer diagnosed in 1995. We used a nested case-control analysis to estimate the risk of cancer among users of calcium-channel blockers and ACE inhibitors, with users of beta-blockers as a reference group. The study was based on information taken from the General Practice Research Database, and the study population was restricted to patients with at least 4 years of medical history recorded on computer. FINDINGS: The study was based on 446 cases of cancer and 1750 controls. The relative risk estimates for all cancers combined were 1.27 (95% CI 0.98-1.63) and 0.79 (0.58-1.06) for users of calcium-channel blockers and ACE inhibitors, respectively, relative to users of beta-blockers. There was little difference in risk estimates with duration of use of calcium-channel blockers of less than 1.0 year (relative risk 1.46), 1.0-3.9 years (1.26), and 4.0 years or more (1.23). INTERPRETATION: The small positive association between calcium-channel blockers and risk of cancer is unlikely to be causal since there is no increase in risk with increasing duration of calcium-channel blocker use.
Authors: Michael C Irizarry; David J Webb; Nada Boudiaf; John Logie; Laurel A Habel; Natalia Udaltsova; Gary D Friedman Journal: Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf Date: 2011-12-06 Impact factor: 2.890
Authors: Katherine A McGlynn; Katrina Hagberg; Jie Chen; Barry I Graubard; W Thomas London; Susan Jick; Vikrant V Sahasrabuddhe Journal: J Natl Cancer Inst Date: 2015-02-26 Impact factor: 13.506
Authors: Martin T Johnson; Aparna Gudlur; Xuexin Zhang; Ping Xin; Scott M Emrich; Ryan E Yoast; Raphael Courjaret; Robert M Nwokonko; Wei Li; Nadine Hempel; Khaled Machaca; Donald L Gill; Patrick G Hogan; Mohamed Trebak Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2020-07-08 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Denise M Boudreau; Elizabeth Koehler; Stephen J Rulyak; Sebastien Haneuse; Robert Harrison; Margaret T Mandelson Journal: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev Date: 2008-10-28 Impact factor: 4.254