Beta-blocker drug use and survival among patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Preclinical studies have suggested that β-adrenergic signaling is involved in pancreatic cancer progression. Prompted by such studies, we investigated an association between beta-blocker drug use with improved cancer-specific survival in a large, general population-based cohort of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). All patients diagnosed with a first primary PDAC in Sweden between 2006 and 2009 were identified through the Swedish Cancer Register (n=2,394). We obtained information about use of beta-blockers and other medications through linkage with the national Prescribed Drug Register. Cancer-specific mortality was assessed using the Swedish Cause of Death Register. We used multivariable Cox regression adjusted for sociodemographic factors, tumor characteristics, comorbidity score and other medications to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for cancer-specific mortality associated with beta-blocker use during the 90 day period before cancer diagnosis. A total of 2,054 (86%) died with pancreatic cancer recorded as the underlying cause of death during a maximum of 5 years follow-up (median 5 months). Patients who used beta-blockers (n=522) had a lower cancer-specific mortality rate than non-users (adjusted HR 0·79; 95% CI 0·70-0·90, p<0·001). This observed rate reduction was more pronounced among patients with localized disease at diagnosis (n=517; adjusted HR 0·60; 95% CI 0·43-0·83, p=0·002), especially for users with higher daily doses (HR 0·54; 95% CI 0·35-0·83, p=0·005). No clear rate differences were observed by beta-blocker receptor selectivity. Our results support the concept that beta-blocker drugs may improve the survival of PDAC patients, particularly among those with localized disease.

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