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The Clinical Relevance of Beta Blockers in Ovarian Carcinoma: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT: The last ten years have seen hardly any improvement in the prognosis of ovarian carcinoma. There is a great need for new treatment strategies, and a recent retrospective study showing a survival advantage with the use of beta blockers met with a very positive response. This systematic review summarizes the current state of knowledge and research on the topic: A database analysis identified six clinical studies showing inconsistent results with respect to the administration of beta blockers and disease course. The 13 preclinical studies identified showed almost without exception both that catecholamines had detrimental effects on tumour progression, and that these effects could be influenced by pharmacological blockade. Overall the available evidence does not justify the use of beta blockers in clinical practice for ovarian carcinoma at the present time. This article also outlines details of research design required for further studies needed on the subject. Preclinical research findings are however very impressive: They not only form an important basis for the development of future clinical studies but also, through revealing new pathomechanisms, they already make an important contribution towards the development of new treatment strategies for ovarian carcinoma.

SUBMITTER: Hefner J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5065417 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Clinical Relevance of Beta Blockers in Ovarian Carcinoma: A Systematic Review.

Hefner J J Csef H H

Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde 20161001 10

The last ten years have seen hardly any improvement in the prognosis of ovarian carcinoma. There is a great need for new treatment strategies, and a recent retrospective study showing a survival advantage with the use of beta blockers met with a very positive response. This systematic review summarizes the current state of knowledge and research on the topic: A database analysis identified six clinical studies showing inconsistent results with respect to the administration of beta blockers and d ...[more]

PMID: 27761025

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Project description:The presence of tumor cells in effusions within serosal cavities is a clinical manifestation of advanced-stage cancer and is generally associated with poor survival. Identifying molecular targets may help to design efficient treatments to eradicate these aggressive cancer cells and improve patient survival. Using a state-of-the-art Taqman-based qRT-PCR assay, we investigated the multidrug resistance (MDR) transcriptome of 32 unpaired ovarian serous carcinoma effusion samples obtained at diagnosis or at disease recurrence following chemotherapy. MDR genes were selected a priori based on an extensive curation of the literature published during the last three decades. We found three gene signatures with a statistically significant correlation with overall survival (OS), response to treatment (complete response - CR vs. other), and progression free survival (PFS). The median log-rank p-values for the signatures were 0.023, 0.034, and 0.008, respectively. No correlation was found with residual tumor status after cytoreductive surgery, treatment (with or without chemotherapy) and stage defined according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Further analyses demonstrated that gene expression alone can effectively predict the survival outcome of women with ovarian serous carcinoma (OS: log-rank p=0.0000 and PFS: log-rank p=0.002). Interestingly, the signature for overall survival is the same in patients at first presentation and those who had chemotherapy and relapsed. This pilot study highlights two new gene signatures that may help in optimizing the treatment for ovarian carcinoma patients with effusions. In the study presented here, effusion samples were obtained from 32 patients diagnosed with serous ovarian carcinoma (n=25), primary peritoneal serous carcinoma (n=6) or tubal serous carcinoma (n=1). They were accrued at the Division of Pathology in the Norwegian Radium Hospital from 2000-2006. RNA was used to study the expression profile of 381 multidrug resistant-related genes.

Project description:BackgroundPreclinical and retrospective studies suggest that beta-blockers are active against breast cancer. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the impact of beta-blockers on the outcomes of patients with early-stage breast cancer.MethodsA systematic literature search was performed to identify studies comparing outcomes of patients with early-stage breast cancer according to beta-blocker use (yes versus no). The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival (RFS), defined as the occurrence of breast cancer recurrence or death. Secondary objectives were pathologic complete response (pCR), breast cancer recurrence, breast cancer-specific mortality and overall survival (OS). Hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted from each study and a pooled analysis with the random-effect model was conducted. The Higgins' I-squared test was used to quantify heterogeneity. Egger's test was applied to assess publication bias. All P values were two-sided and considered significant if ≤0.05.ResultsOverall, 13 studies were included as follows: RFS (6), pCR (2), breast cancer recurrence (6), breast cancer-specific mortality (7) and OS (5). The use of beta-blockers was associated with a significant RFS improvement in the overall population (N = 21 570; HR 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.96; P = 0.025) and in patients with triple-negative disease (N = 1212; HR 0.53; 95% CI, 0.35-0.81; P = 0.003). No significant differences in terms of pCR (N = 1554; OR 0.77; 95% CI, 0.44-1.36; P = 0.371), breast cancer recurrence (N = 37 957; OR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.42-1.03; P = 0.065), breast cancer-specific mortality (N = 64 830; HR 0.77; 95% CI, 0.56-1.08; P = 0.130) or OS (N = 103 065; HR 1.03; 95% CI, 0.87-1.23; P = 0.692) were observed according to beta-blocker use.DiscussionIn this meta-analysis, beta-blocker use was associated with a longer RFS in patients with early-stage breast cancer, with a more pronounced effect observed in those with triple-negative disease. Beta-blockers arise as an interesting option to be explored in prospective studies for patients with early-stage breast cancer.

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Project description:AimPeripheral vasoconstriction has long been described as a vascular adverse effect of β-adrenoceptor blockers. Whether β-adrenoceptor blockers should be avoided in patients with peripheral vascular disease depends on pharmacological properties (e.g. preferential binding to β1 -adrenoreceptors or intrinsic sympathomimetic activity). However, this has not been confirmed in experimental studies. We performed a network meta-analysis in order to assess the comparative risk of peripheral vasoconstriction of different β-adrenoceptor blockers.MethodWe searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including β-adrenoceptor blockers that were published in core clinical journals in the Pubmed database. All RCTs reporting peripheral vasoconstriction as an adverse effect of β-adrenoceptor blockers and controls were included. Sensitivity analyses were conducted including possibly confounding covariates (latitude, properties of the β-adrenoceptor blockers, e.g. intrinsic sympathomimetic activity, vasodilation, drug indication, drug doses). The protocol and the detailed search strategy are available online (PROSPERO registry CRD42014014374).ResultsAmong 2238 records screened, 38 studies including 57 026 patients were selected. Overall, peripheral vasoconstriction was reported in 7% of patients with β-adrenoceptor blockers and 4.6% in the control groups (P < 0.001), with heterogeneity among drugs. Atenolol and propranolol had a significantly higher risk than placebo, whereas pindolol, acebutolol and oxprenolol had not.ConclusionOur results suggest that β-adrenoceptor blockers have variable propensity to enhance peripheral vasoconstriction and that it is not related to preferential binding to β1 -adrenoceptors. These findings challenge FDA and European recommendations regarding precautions and contra-indications of use of β-adrenoceptor blockers and suggest that β-adrenoceptor blockers with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity could be safely used in patients with peripheral vascular disease.

Dataset Information

The Clinical Relevance of Beta Blockers in Ovarian Carcinoma: A Systematic Review.

Publications

The Clinical Relevance of Beta Blockers in Ovarian Carcinoma: A Systematic Review.

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