medwireNews: Postmenopausal women who take short-acting calcium channel blockers (CCBs) could be at increased risk for developing pancreatic cancer, findings indicate.
Among 145,551 women aged 50–79 years who were participating in the Women’s Health Initiative, those who had ever used short-acting CCBs were a significant 1.66-fold more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than ever users of other antihypertensive medications.
There was no significantly increased risk with the use of long-acting CCBs or any other class of antihypertensive drugs, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, β-blockers, and diuretics, reported Zhensheng Wang (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA) at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
These findings are “novel and of potential broad medical and public health significance if confirmed,” he told the press.
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