Calcium Antagonists And Breast Cancer?

Post-menopausal women receiving calcium antagonists for the treatment ofhypertension and heart disease have twice the risk of developing breast cancer than other women, according to a report in the journal Cancer (October 15).

The Cardiovascular Health Study enrolled 3,198 postmenopausal women with no history of breast cancer or congestive heart failure. When the study began in 1989-90, 200 women were taking immediate-release and 168 were receiving sustained-release calcium antagonists. Four years later, the respective figures were 352 and 564.

It was noted that, when compared to women not using this class of agents, women who had taken calcium antagonists had twice the risk of developing carcinoma of the breast (hazard ratio=2.57). The use of other antihypertensive drugs was not associated with an increased breast cancer risk, according to the report.