A cheap blood pressure drug already taken by millions could help protect women against one of the deadliest forms of breast cancer, new research suggests.
Scientists at Monash University in Melbourne say beta blockers – which work by dampening the effects of stress hormones – may also halt the progression of triple negative breast cancer in some patients.
The link between beta blockers and breast cancer first emerged in 2023, though it was not clear why. Now, researchers believe they have identified the mechanism – and with it a potential low-cost treatment for an extremely aggressive disease.
Their work looked at the interaction between two signalling molecules, cAMP and calcium, which accelerate cancer spread when a receptor called the beta-2 adrenoceptor is activated.
Stress hormones such as cortisol can trigger this receptor, fuelling tumour growth. But the team has now discovered that beta blockers can switch off a gene – HOXC12 – that drives this process, slowing the progression of the disease.
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The researchers said the breakthrough could help doctors identify, at the point of diagnosis, which patients are most likely to benefit from beta blocker therapy.
