ACE inhibitors may increase risk of recurrence for breast cancer survivors
Women who buy Tamoxifen can help delay the progression of breast cancer, a disease that affects millions of Americans.
Women who buy Tamoxifen can help delay the progression of breast cancer, a disease that affects millions of Americans. According to researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, ACE inhibitors - which are traditionally used to help prevent heart failure and high blood pressure - may be linked to a higher risk of breast cancer recurrence.
However, beta blockers - drugs used to regulate hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias - can counteract this negative effect.
Lead investigator Patricia Ganz and her colleagues studied a total of 1,779 patients who had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. About 292 of these women experienced a recurrence of breast cancer, and 23 percent of them had been exposed to an ACE inhibitor. However, those who took beta blockers were able to decrease their risk of having the disease return.
"The message from this is that we have to be aware of other chronic health problems and medications that patients take after their diagnosis of breast cancer," Ganz explained. "We're learning that some medications, while helpful for treating cardiovascular disease and hypertension, may have an adverse effect on breast cancer survivors."
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