Peixoto Rita, Pereira Maria de Lourdes, Oliveira Miguel
Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro & Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2020 May 26;13(6):105. doi: 10.3390/ph13060105.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. After diagnosis, cancer treatment may involve radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. Several of the approaches used to treat cancer also attack normal cells and, thus, there is the need for more effective treatments that decrease the toxicity to normal cells and increase the success rates of treatment. The use of beta-blockers in cancer has been studied for their antagonist action on the adrenergic system through inhibition of beta-adrenergic receptors. Besides regulating processes such as blood pressure, heart rate, and airway strength or reactivity, beta-blockers block mechanisms that trigger tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. This study presents a literature review of the available studies addressing cancer treatments and beta-blockers. Overall, data suggest that propranolol may be used as a complement for the treatment of several types of cancer due to its ability to improve cancer outcomes by decreasing cancer cell proliferation rates. Nonetheless, additional in vitro studies should be performed to fully understand the protective role of BBs in cancer patients.
癌症是全球主要死因之一。确诊后，癌症治疗可能包括放疗、化疗和手术。用于治疗癌症的几种方法也会攻击正常细胞，因此，需要更有效的治疗方法，以降低对正常细胞的毒性并提高治疗成功率。β受体阻滞剂在癌症治疗中的应用已得到研究，其通过抑制β肾上腺素能受体对肾上腺素能系统具有拮抗作用。除了调节血压、心率和气道强度或反应性等过程外，β受体阻滞剂还能阻断引发肿瘤发生、血管生成和肿瘤转移的机制。本研究对有关癌症治疗和β受体阻滞剂的现有研究进行了文献综述。总体而言，数据表明普萘洛尔可能因其能够通过降低癌细胞增殖率来改善癌症治疗效果，而被用作几种癌症治疗的补充药物。尽管如此，仍应进行更多的体外研究，以全面了解β受体阻滞剂在癌症患者中的保护作用。
