Spironolactone Not Tied to Breast Cancer Recurrence

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Spironolactone is not independently associated with increased breast cancer recurrence, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Chapman Wei, from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and colleagues used the Humana Insurance database to identify breast cancer survivors. Those with a spironolactone prescription were matched in a 1:1 ratio using propensity score analysis.

The researchers found that overall, breast cancer recurrence developed in 123 patients (16.5 percent) who were prescribed spironolactone versus 3,649 patients (12.8 percent) not taking spironolactone (P = 0.004). However, with propensity matching, there was no association between spironolactone and increased breast cancer recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.966; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.807 to 1.156; P = 0.953).

“The drug could be used as an additional treatment option for alopecia in female breast cancer patients who are disease-free,” a coauthor said in a statement.

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