• Thomas Datzmann, Susanne Fuchs, Daniel Andree, Bernd Hohenstein, Jochen Schmitt, and Christoph Schindler.
• National Center for Tumour Diseases, Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.datzmann@nct-dresden.de.
• Eur. J. Intern. Med. 2019 Jun 1; 64: 1-9.

AimsThe potential influence of angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) on carcinogenesis is a much-debated topic. Both observational, as well as preclinical studies in rodent carcinogenic assays, suggest a major role of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone-System (RAAS) in cancer development. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis with available study data on ARBs and carcinogenicity in general as primary outcome were conducted. Secondary outcomes were defined as tumour-specific mortality rates and the frequency of new cases of specific tumour types with particular emphasis on lung, breast, and prostate cancer.MethodsA systematic literature research was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and TOXLINE. We used a combination of MeSH terms, keywords and substance names of ARBs and searched between 1950 and 2016. At least 100 participants in each study arm and a minimum follow-up for one year were necessary for study inclusion. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated by a random-effects model.ResultsA total of 8818 potentially eligible publications were identified of whom seven randomised controlled trials, four case-control studies and one cohort study met our inclusion criteria. As a key result, we found no effect on carcinogenesis in randomised controlled trials for ARB usage. (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.87-1.19; p = .803). Conflicting results with observational studies could be explained by poor reporting- and study qualities.ConclusionsThe results of our meta-analysis focusing only on high evidence levels and study designs (RCTs) did not reveal any relationship between pharmacotherapy with an ARB and an increased risk for cancer in general.Copyright © 2019 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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