Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24593055›Full record

Observational studyThe British journal of dermatology2014

Beta-blocker usage after malignant melanoma diagnosis and survival: a population-based nested case-control study.

C McCourt, H G Coleman, L J Murray, M M Cantwell, O Dolan, D G Powe, C R Cardwell

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in The British journal of dermatology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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  9. Sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation in cancer: therapeutic implications.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2021
    Review
  10. Article
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  12. Article
  13. Review
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  15. The Role of β-Blockers in Melanoma.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2020
    Review
  16. Article
  17. βBritish journal of pharmacology · 2019
    Article
  18. Review
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  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

C McCourtDepartment of Dermatology, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, Northern Ireland; Cancer Epidemiology and Health Services Research Group, Centre for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences-B, Royal Victoria Hospital Site, Queen's University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast, BT12 6BJ, Northern Ireland.
H G Coleman
L J Murray
M M Cantwell
O Dolan
D G Powe
C R Cardwell
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust · GBQueen's Medical Centre · GB

Funding

Cancer Research UKMedical Research Council MR/K023241/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBeta-blockers have potential antiangiogenic and antimigratory activity. Studies have demonstrated a survival benefit in patients with malignant melanoma treated with beta-blockers.

objectivesTo investigate the association between postdiagnostic beta-blocker usage and risk of melanoma-specific mortality in a population-based cohort of patients with malignant melanoma.

methodsPatients with incident malignant melanoma diagnosed between 1998 and 2010 were identified within the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink and confirmed using cancer registry data. Patients with malignant melanoma with a melanoma-specific death (cases) recorded by the Office of National Statistics were matched on year of diagnosis, age and sex to four malignant melanoma controls (who lived at least as long after diagnosis as their matched case). A nested case-control approach was used to investigate the association between postdiagnostic beta-blocker usage and melanoma-specific death and all-cause mortality. Conditional logistic regression was applied to generate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for beta-blocker use determined from general practitioner prescribing.

resultsBeta-blocker medications were prescribed after malignant melanoma diagnosis to 20·2% of 242 patients who died from malignant melanoma (cases) and 20·3% of 886 matched controls. Consequently, there was no association between beta-blocker use postdiagnosis and cancer-specific death (OR 0·99, 95% CI 0·68-1·42), which did not markedly alter after adjustment for confounders including stage (OR 0·87, 95% CI 0·56-1·34). No significant associations were detected for individual beta-blocker types, by defined daily doses of use or for all-cause mortality.

conclusionsContrary to some previous studies, beta-blocker use after malignant melanoma diagnosis was not associated with reduced risk of death from melanoma in this U.K. population-based study.

Indexed as

Adrenergic beta-AntagonistsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge of OnsetCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMelanomaMiddle AgedSkin NeoplasmsUnited KingdomAdrenergic beta-Antagonists

Identifiers

PMID24593055
OpenAlexW2014821959

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.