Antihypertensive drug use and the risk of prostate cancer (Canada)

Abstract

Purpose: To verify if exposure to antihypertensive drugs was associated to prostate cancer (PC) risk.

Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study using record linkage between two population-based databases. We defined exposure as a binary variable and in terms of timing and cumulative duration of use. We controlled for detection bias and Aspirin use.

Results: Among the 2221 cases and 11,105 controls, use of any antihypertensive agent was associated with an adjusted relative risk of PC of 0.98 (CI, 0.88-1.08). Of the different classes of antihypertensives, only beta-blockers (BBs) were associated with a reduction in PC risk (OR = 0.86, CI = 0.77-0.96). In those who cumulated < 1, 1-4, and > or = 4 years of BB use, the risk was 0.89 (0.75-1.05), 0.91 (0.75-1.09), and 0.82 (0.69-0.96), respectively. Also, subjects with > or = 4 years of alpha-blocker (ABs) use had a non-significant 25% reduction in PC risk.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that BBs and long-term use of ABs may prevent PC whereas calcium channel blockers or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors do not influence PC risk.