Concurrent β-blocker use improves survival in oesophageal cancer patients on chemoradiation

Use of β-blockers results in significant survival benefits in oesophageal cancer patients receiving concurrent chemoradiation, a study has shown.

β-blockers have been associated with improved outcomes in several malignancies, but the impact of β-blockade in oesophageal cancer has not been well characterized. To address this, the authors analysed the charts of all 418 patients treated with radiation for oesophageal cancer at an institution from April 2010 to October 2018.

Those who underwent treatment with palliative intent or did not finish therapy were excluded in the analysis. The authors determined β-blocker use from the medication list at the time of pretreatment consultation.

A total of 291 patients with oesophageal cancer received neoadjuvant/definitive chemoradiation therapy, with a median follow-up of 22.5 months (interquartile range, 9.6–41.0 mo). Of these, 81 (27.8 percent) were on β-blockers at the time of treatment. Patients receiving β-blockers had significantly improved distant control (22.2 percent vs 37.9 percent; p=0.035).

Cox regression analysis revealed that concurrent β-blocker use significantly correlated with improved progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 0.41, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.27–0.66; p<0.001) and overall survival (HR, 0.55, 95 percent CI, 0.38–0.81; p=0.002).

In addition, propensity score-matched pairs were created using tumour stage, nodal stage, sex, neoadjuvant versus definitive therapy, Karnofsky Performance Status, and aspirin use. In this analysis, significant progression-free survival benefit was observed in oesophageal cancer patients receiving β-blockers (p=0.005).

“Concurrent β-blocker use is common within patients receiving concurrent chemoradiation for oesophageal cancer,” the authors noted.