title: Is Beta-Blocker Use Beneficial in Breast Cancer? A Meta-Analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preclinical studies have proved that beta-blocking agents inhibit several pathways for breast cancer progression and metastasis. We aimed to evaluate the association between beta-blocker use and prognosis of breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search for studies from MEDLINE and EMBASE (inception to March 2014) was performed using the keywords "breast cancer" and "beta-blocker." In 2 groups of breast cancer patients (beta-blocker users and non-beta-blocker users), overall deaths (ODs), cancer-specific deaths (CSDs), and recurrences were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six studies including 18,118 patients were eligible for this analysis. Two studies with 3,139 patients were included in the analysis of ODs. The random-effects model showed no significant difference in ODs between beta-blocker users and non-beta-blocker users (odds ratio [OR] 0.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50-1.52, p = 0.49). Four studies with 13,782 patients were included in the measurement of CSDs. The difference in CSDs between beta-blocker users and non-beta-blocker users was not significant using the fixed-effect model (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.82-1.06, p = 0.29). Three studies with 3,923 patients were included in the calculation of recurrences. Overall, beta-blockers did not affect the incidence of recurrence (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.25-1.95, p = 0.49).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Beta-blockers were not beneficial regarding ODs, CSDs, or recurrences. Further studies are needed to evaluate the associations between the effects of beta-blockers and subtypes of breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Yul
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Youn Joo
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Sang Hyup
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyuk Jae
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Kyoungjune
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pak
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015994:Incidence; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000517:prevention & control; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists
keywords: Beta-blocker; Breast cancer; Meta-analysis