Generic heart medication shown to prolong ovarian cancer patients' survival

25-Aug-2015 - USA

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers demonstrate a benefit in overall survival among epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients receiving generic heart medications known as beta-blockers. Survival was shown to be greatest among those prescribed first-generation nonselective beta-blockers. According to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center investigators, the drugs block the effects of stress pathways involved in tumor growth and spread. With further research, they may also prove beneficial in conjunction with other treatment regimens and across other cancer types.

Researchers compared overall survival among patients with documented beta-blocker use during chemotherapy and those without. Among the 269 patients who received beta-blockers, 193 (71.7 percent) received beta-1-adrenergic receptor selective agents (SBBs) and the remaining patients received nonselective beta antagonists (NSBBs). The research team found:

For patients receiving any beta-blocker, the median overall survival was 47.8 months versus 42 months for nonusers.
Median overall survival based on beta-blocker receptor selectivity was 94.9 months for those receiving NSBBs versus 38 months for those receiving SBBs.
Even among patients with hypertension, a longer median overall survival was observed among users of NSBBs compared with nonusers (90 months versus 38.2 months).

This study builds on a large body of research by principal investigator Anil Sood, M.D., professor in Gynecologic Medical Oncology and Cancer Biology at MD Anderson. It showed that stress hormones fuel progression of ovarian and other cancers, and that beta-blockers - among the most proven drugs in cardiovascular medicine - might be a new way to stifle that effect.

"Beta-blockers treat a variety of conditions, such as heart disease, high-blood pressure, glaucoma and migraines. They target a receptor protein in heart muscle that causes the heart to beat harder and faster when activated by stress hormones," Sood said. "Our research has shown that the same stress mechanisms impact ovarian cancer progression, so these drugs could play a new role in cancer treatment."

According to Sood, the usefulness of beta-blockers was unclear until now. "The ability to show improved survival using nonselective agents - which inhibit a specific stress pathway - is the culmination of years of research into ovarian cancer biology and pathogenesis."

Although further study is needed, these results highlight the importance of adrenergic receptor-β2 (ADRB2), a signaling pathway important to ovarian carcinogenesis and targeted by NSBBs (versus the ADRB1 pathway targeted by SBBs).

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/154229/generic-heart-medication-shown-to-prolong-ovarian-cancer-patients-survival.html