title: Use of ß-blockers and mortality following ovarian cancer diagnosis: a population-based cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Experimental data suggest that catecholamine hormones are involved in stimulating the aggressiveness of ovarian cancer, but few population-based studies have examined this association. We therefore conducted a population-based cohort study to examine whether ß-blockers affect mortality following ovarian cancer diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used the Danish Cancer Registry to identify all patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer in northern Denmark between 1999 and 2010 (n=6,626). Data on medication use, comorbidity, and survival were obtained from medical databases. According to the last redeemed prescription before diagnosis, ß-blocker use was categorized as current (within ≤90 days), previous (>90 days) or never. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusting for confounding factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the ovarian cancer patients, 373 (5.6%) were current, 87 (1.3%) previous, and 6,166 (93.1%) were nonusers of ß-blockers. Median duration of use was 19.0 months among current users and 43.0 months among previous users. Median follow-up was 2.55 years (IQR: 0.81-9.23). Nonusers and current users of ß-blockers had similar comorbidity burden whereas previous users had moderate comorbidity more frequently. Compared with nonusers, the adjusted HR was 1.17 (95% CI: 1.02-1.34) for current users and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.90-1.55) for previous users. Secondary analyses stratifying by cancer stage and duration of ß-blocker use supported the overall results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found no evidence that ß-blocker use was associated with decreased mortality following ovarian cancer diagnosis.
authors: Division of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. saj@dce.au.dk
authors: Sigrun A
authors: SA
authors: Johannesdottir
authors: Morten
authors: M
authors: Schmidt
authors: Gary
authors: G
authors: Phillips
authors: Ronald
authors: R
authors: Glaser
authors: Eric V
authors: EV
authors: Yang
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Blumenfeld
authors: Stanley
authors: S
authors: Lemeshow
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists