title: Does beta-blocker therapy improve the survival of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether beta-blockers (BBs) improve the overall survival (OS) of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical charts of 107 patients with metastatic NSCLC were retrospectively assessed. Thirty-five patients (BB group) using BBs during chemotherapy (CT) were compared with 72 controls [control=(C) group] who did not use BBs following the diagnosis of NSCLC. The histological tumor subtype, performance status (ECOG), age, gender, smoking status, comorbidities, other medications and chemotherapeutics that were received in any line of treatment were recorded. We compared the overall survival (OS) of the patients in the BB and C groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 61 years (range 42-81 years) and all patients were administered CT. The BB group was more likely to have HT and IHD and was more likely to use RAS blockers (p<0.01 for all) compared with the C group, as expected. The mean follow-up time was 17.8 months (range 1-102 months) for the entire group. The most commonly prescribed BB agent was metoprolol (80% of cases). At the time of the analysis, 74 (69%) of all patients had died. In the univariate analysis the median overall survival (OS) was 19.25 (±2.87) months (95%CI: 13.62-24.88) in the BB group and 13.20 (±2.37) months (95%CI: 8.55-17.85) in the C group (p=0.017). However, the benefit of BBs on survival disappeared in the multivariate analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of BBs during CT may be associated with an improved OS for patients with metastatic NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology Department, Institute of Oncology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey E-mail : r.atabey@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aydiner
authors.forename: Rumeysa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ciftci
authors.forename: Senem
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karabulut
authors.forename: Leyla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kilic
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000556:secondary; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists