A beta-blocker used to manage heart disorders could greatly reduce the progression of breast cancer. 


Researchers at Melbourne's Monash University have discovered that carvedilol could decisively increase the odds of surviving the cancer, which kills about 3000 Australian women a year.


Carvedilol is used to manage hypertension and chemotherapy-induced heart disease.


In collaboration with a team from the Cancer Registry of Norway, the Monash researchers investigated the effects of the drug in more than 4000 breast cancer patients.


They found if women happened to be taking carvedilol when diagnosed, they had a greater chance of survival than those not taking the drug. 


The study, published in the European Journal of Cancer, was led by Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences researchers Erica Sloan and Ryan Gillis, with support from the National Breast Cancer Foundation.


"In earlier research, published in 2020, we demonstrated that the beta-blocker propranolol independently reduces biomarkers of metastasis in breast cancer, which is what led us to explore how carvedilol might also affect cancer-related outcomes," Professor Sloan said.


"Our research into propranolol discovered that beta-blockers can halt the stress response experienced by cancer patients at the time of diagnosis and essentially stop the cancer from invading."


Mr Gillis said treatment with carvedilol blocked the effects of sympathetic nervous system activation, which reduced primary tumour growth and metastasis in a mouse model of breast cancer and prevented invasion by breast cancer cell lines.


"In a large cohort of breast cancer patients, a retrospective analysis found that women using carvedilol at breast cancer diagnosis had reduced breast cancer-specific mortality compared to women who did not (after a median follow-up of 5.5 years)."


The team is now working on the potential for a clinical trial.