Recently, concerns have been raised that angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) may be
associated with an increased risk for cancer development. However, the relation between
ARBs and cancer is still unclear. Therefore, a nationwide population-based study was
conducted to investigate the possible influence of ARBs on the occurrence of new cancers
in patients with hypertension by using the Taiwan National Health Insurance database. A
total of 109,002 patients with newly diagnosed hypertension were identified from a cohort
database of 1 million individuals from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2006. Among
them, 40,124 (36.8%) had received ARBs for hypertension. The end point was the development
of any type of cancer before the end of 2007. During an average of 5.7
2.6 years
of follow-up, a total of 9,067 cases of new cancer occurrence were observed. The log-rank
test showed that the occurrence rate of newly diagnosed cancers in the subjects receiving
ARBs was significantly lower than those receiving treatment without ARBs (ARBs vs
controls 3,082 vs 5,985, p <0.001). After adjusting for age, gender, co-morbidities, and
medications for hypertension control, ARB use was found to be independently associated with
a decreased risk for cancer occurrence (hazard ratio 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.63 to 0.68,
p <0.001). In conclusion, long-term use of ARBs is associated with a lower incidence of cancer
occurrence, thereby suggesting that ARBs may prevent cancer development.