Exposure to beta-blockers and survival in breast cancer patients: A cohort study using the UK General Practice Research Database.

Study identification

• EU PAS number:
  EUPAS2572
• Study ID:
  2573
• Official title and acronym:
  Exposure to beta-blockers and survival in breast cancer patients: A cohort study using the UK General Practice Research Database.
• DARWIN EU® study:
  No
• Study countries:
  United Kingdom
• Study description:
  New therapeutic strategies are needed to reduce mortality in breast cancer patients. Recently, it has been proposed that cancer progression may be prevented by medicines in current use including beta-blockers (used to treat hypertension). We previously demonstrated that beta-blockers inhibit migration in breast and prostate cancer cells and in an observational study showed marked reductions in cancer-associated mortality and metastasis in breast cancer patients using beta-blockers. This study will be the largest yet to investigate beta-blockers and cancer progression in breast cancer patients. GPRD data allow detailed analysis of the timing of drug exposure and the effect on various outcome measures including mortality, cancer-specific mortality and cancer recurrence. Importantly, an analysis will use robust cancer data from UK cancer registries and robust death data (from the Office of National Statistics).
• Study status:
  Ongoing

Research institutions and networks

Institutions

Queen's University Belfast

Study timelines

Date when funding contract was signed

Planned:01/12/2011

Study start date

Actual:01/03/2012

Date of final study report

Planned:28/02/2013

Sources of funding

Non-for-profit organisation (e.g. charity)

More details on funding

Cancer Research UK

Regulatory

• Was the study required by a regulatory body?:
  No