Angiotensin receptor blocker therapy and risk of cancer

Angiotensin receptor blocker therapy and risk of cancer

Por: Teo, Koon K.  Journal of Hypertension: August 2013 – Volume 31 – Issue 8 – p 1532-1534.

In their study published in this issue of the Journal of Hypertension, Rao et al. examined the association between exposure to treatment with angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and subsequent risk of lung cancer in individuals who received routine treatment in the US Department of Veteran Affairs Health System, which has maintained a robust database on which outcome questions such as this can be addressed. In this data record-linkage retrospective study using the Veteran Affairs electronic medical record system and other registries, the authors selected 1 299 902 patients as their analytic cohort, with 7 8075 having received prescriptions for ARBs and 11 51826 who did not. Following a rigorous statistical procedure in the selection of appropriate controls from those who did not receive ARB prescriptions, they found that the incidence of lung cancer was 0.44% in the treated and 0.57% in the nontreated patients, and concluded that there was no evidence to indicate an increased risk of lung cancer among new users of ARBs compared to nonusers. [Actualizado: 1ero de agosto 2013].