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Common Blood Pressure Pill May Halt Aggressive Breast Cancer
22 Aug
Summary
- Beta blockers linked to longer relapse-free survival in triple-negative breast cancer
- Medication can turn off gene that fuels cancer's spread
- Researchers hope it could improve survival outcomes for aggressive cancer
According to new research published on August 22, 2025, a common blood pressure medication may hold the key to fighting one of the deadliest forms of breast cancer. The study, conducted by researchers at Melbourne's Monash University, found that beta blockers are linked to "longer relapse-free survival" in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
TNBC is an aggressive type of breast cancer that is negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors and doesn't produce much HER2 protein. This makes it more difficult to treat and often results in a worse prognosis. However, the researchers discovered that beta blockers can turn off a gene called HOXC12, which fuels the cancer's spread.
The way it works is that stress hormones can activate a receptor called beta-2 adrenoceptor, which then causes two more molecules to speed up the cancer's progression. Beta blockers can effectively stop this process, potentially halting the spread of TNBC.
The researchers are hopeful that this discovery "could pave the way to improving survival outcomes" for those with this aggressive form of breast cancer. They believe that if HOXC12 is found to be present in a TNBC patient, they could be an ideal candidate for beta blocker therapy.
