Dihydropyridine Calcium Channel Blockers Do Not Increase Pancreatic Cancer Risk

Takeaway

• Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers were not associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer compared with thiazide diuretics.

Why This Matters

• Findings provide reassurance to physicians and patients about the long-term safety of dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Study Design

• This was a new user, active comparator, population-based cohort study that included 702,448 patients who initiated dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (n = 344,480) and thiazide diuretics (n = 357,968), identified from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (1990-2018).
• Funding:A Foundation Scheme grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Key Results

• Overall, 545 and 707 pancreatic cancer events were reported in the dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers group and thiazide diuretics group, respectively, with corresponding weighted incidence rates of 37.2 (95% CI 34.1 to 40.4) and 39.4 (95% CI 36.1 to 42.9) per 100,000 person-years, respectively.
• Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers were not associated with a higher risk of pancreatic cancer compared with thiazide diuretics (weighted HR 0.93; 95% CI 0.80 to 1.09).
• In secondary analyses, no significant association was observed between individual dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker agents and the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Limitations

• Observational design.
• Study did not include data on medications prescribed by specialists.