Abstract
Objective
Laboratory findings demonstrate anticancer effects of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, including anti-angiogenic activity and inhibition of liver cancer growth in rodent models. Small studies in humans indicate potential for therapeutic anticancer effects and warrant further larger studies.
Methods
A case–control study using the General Practice Research Database examined whether prior ACE inhibitor usage was associated with a reduction in incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Results
Two hundred twenty-four HCC cases were identified, each matched to up to 10 controls by age, sex, and general practice. The data show that HCC is associated with a small, nonsignificant increase in prior use of ACE inhibitors (OR = 1.16, CI = 0.67–2.00). ACE inhibitor use was 7.1% (of 224) in cases and 5.9% (of 2,313) in controls. No significant effects were found when investigating the effect of dose and exposure duration.
Conclusions
We found no clear protective effect of ever or long term use of ACE inhibitors against the development of HCC. Our study suggests that it is unlikely that this class of drugs will be a clinically useful cancer chemoprevention therapy.
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Acknowledgments
AJW and TRC were involved with the conception of the project, with AJW and TRC participating in study design. Analysis was carried out by AJW, MG, JW and TRC, with JW supplying the data. AJW wrote the first draft under the supervision of MG and TRC, and all authors contributed to subsequent drafting. AJW was funded by an MRC DTA studentship.
Conflicts of interest
TRC is married to an employee of Astrazeneca.
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Walker, A.J., West, J., Grainge, M.J. et al. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and hepatocellular carcinoma incidence in the General Practice Research Database. Cancer Causes Control 22, 1743–1747 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9837-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9837-1