WB: Beta-Blockers May Increase Risk for Breast Cancer

Beta-blockers (BBs) may increase the risk for breast cancer, according to a study published in
Clinical Breast Cancer. Researchers sought to evaluate the relationship between BBs and breast
cancer out- comes via a literature review and meta-analysis of which a total of 43 articles were
included. They ob- served that BBs increased breast cancer risk (n=22; relative risk [RR], 1.17;
95% CI, 1.06-1.29), and that BBs were linked with a lower overall survival (n=19; RR, 1.12; 95% CI,
1.08-1.17) and a higher risk for breast cancer recurrence (n=8; RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04-1.23).
Additionally, a subgroup analyses observed only selective BBs increased the risks for breast cancer
(n=5; RR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.15-2.72) and recurrence (n=2; RR, 1.168; 95% CI, 1.02-1.32) while only
non-selective BBs were linked with a lower overall breast cancer survival (n=4; RR, 1.14; 95% CI,
1.07–1.20). Researchers observed no significant differences in terms of progression-free survival
(n=4; RR, 0.933; 95% CI, 0.62-1.30) or disease-free survival (n=2; RR, 0.776; 95% CI, 0.51-1.18).