A study recently published in Cancer Research suggests that better management of high blood pressure may improve survival for people living with metastatic breast cancer (mBC).
Hypertension is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting cancer patients, yet its management is often considered secondary to cancer treatment. Researchers sought to determine whether actively treating the condition could influence outcomes and reduce mortality risk.
The research team analyzed data from 1,332 women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer between 2008 and 2020 within a large health system in Southern California. They followed the participants through 2021 to see how their use of blood pressure medications related to survival.
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Nearly half of the women in the study had high blood pressure when they were diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. The condition was especially common among Black women, affecting 65% of individuals in that group, compared with 46% of non-Hispanic White patients and 46% of Hispanic patients.
More than half of the women with metastatic disease received medication to treat hypertension during the study period.
Researchers compared outcomes between study participants treated with a single class of blood pressure medication, known as monotherapy, and those receiving multiple classes of medications, referred to as polytherapy. Those treated with polytherapy experienced lower mortality rates than those receiving monotherapy. After adjusting for other factors, polytherapy was associated with a 38% lower risk of death from any cause.
The survival benefit appeared particularly pronounced among Hispanic women and showed a similar pattern among Black patients, groups that often experience higher rates of hypertension and disparities in cancer outcomes. The findings suggest that careful management of common comorbid conditions may play a role in improving survival for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
The analysis also showed that individuals receiving multiple medications were more likely to achieve adequate blood pressure control.
“Our findings point to the importance of awareness and hypertensive management in patients with mBC,” the study authors wrote. “To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to determine whether pharmacologic management of a common comorbidity—hypertension—is associated with mortality in women with mBC.”
They noted that further prospective studies are needed to determine optimal hypertension treatment strategies and to better understand how managing cardiovascular risk factors may influence cancer outcomes.
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