Role for catecholamines in tumor progression: Possible use for beta-blockers in the treatment of cancer.

摘要

Interest in the efficacy of beta-blocking agents as possible additions to cancer treatment paradigms has been gaining momentum in recent years. In this issue of Cancer Biology & Therapy, Zhang et al. report that beta-adrenergic receptors (ARs) may play a role in pancreatic cancer invasion, and support the idea that beta-blockers may be useful in suppressing pancreatic cancer invasion and proliferation. This study adds to the growing literature that describe the impact of catecholamines, including norepinephrine (NE) and epi-nephrine (EPI), on tumor progression. In this study, they show that MIA PaCa-2 and BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer cell lines express mRNA and protein for both beta1- and beta2-ARs. When treated with the beta2-AR-specific antagonist, ICI118,551, and the non-specific beta-AR antagonist, propranolol, cell invasion and proliferation were significantly inhibited in a Matrigel invasion and subrenal capsular assays. This effect was greater compared to the beta1-AR antagonist, metoprolol and control.