Common Blood Pressure Pills and Breast Cancer Risk Linked

A new study has discovered the relationship between calcium channel blockers and increased breast cancer risk. Lead researcher Prof. Rachael Moorin, from the Curtin School of Population Health, said the relationship between calcium channel blockers — used widely in Australia as a first-line therapy for high blood pressure — and breast cancer was hotly debated with mixed research across the globe.

“An American study found 58% of women with early-stage breast cancer were prescribed a blood pressure-reducing medication. This link has achieved mixed results from research relating to North American, United Kingdom, Nordic and Taiwanese women,” Prof. Moorin said.

Calcium Channel Blockers and Breast Cancer Risk

“This study will investigate if taking calcium channel blockers increases the risk of breast cancer in Australian women for the first time. The use of calcium channel blockers may increase the risk of cancer because of their role in changing intracellular calcium levels and breast tissue may be particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of changing intracellular calcium due to its secretary role.”

Prof. Moorin said the study, which would take about three years to complete, had potentially significant implications for Australian women.

“With an estimated 48 women diagnosed each day, breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia in 2019 and the most common in women, with one in seven Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85,” Prof. Moorin said.

“The incidence of breast cancer is rising, with 19,535 new cases diagnosed in Australia in 2019, a 19% increase compared with 2013. Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the most common cause of death from cancer in Australian women.”

The study will examine the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, the 45 and Up Study data from the Department of Human Services database and The Rotterdam Study from The Netherlands.

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Source-Eurekalert