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Incidence of cancer in postmyocardial infarction patients treated with short‐acting nifedipine and diltiazem
Author(s) -
Kanamasa Ken,
Kimura Akio,
Miyataka Masaru,
Takenaka Toshihiko,
Ishikawa Kinji
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19990315)85:6<1369::aid-cncr21>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - diltiazem , medicine , nifedipine , odds ratio , cancer , incidence (geometry) , confidence interval , myocardial infarction , antagonist , anesthesia , calcium , gastroenterology , surgery , physics , receptor , optics
BACKGROUND Recent reports suggest a possible link between nifedipine (but not diltiazem) and an increased risk of cancer in patients being treated with calcium antagonists. METHODS A total of 1054 postmyocardial infarction patients were divided randomly into those being treated with calcium antagonists (n = 566 [nifedipine, 425 patients and diltiazem, 141 patients]) and controls (no calcium antagonist; n = 488). The patients were followed for 26.3 months, and the incidences of cardiac events as well as cancer were compared among the 3 groups. RESULTS Thirteen patients (2.7%) in the control group developed cancer, whereas 15 patients in the nifedipine group (3.5%; odds ratio, 1.34; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.63–2.85) and 3 patients in the diltiazem group (2.1%; odds ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.27–2.93) developed cancer. CONCLUSIONS Diltiazem appears to present no increased risk of cancer. The incidence of cancer was slightly higher in the patients receiving nifedipine than in those not being treated with a calcium antagonist, which is consistent with earlier reports; however, this increase was not statistically significant. Cancer 1999;85:1369–74. © 1999 American Cancer Society.