4.7 Review

Propranolol: A Pick and Roll Team Player in Benign Tumors and Cancer Therapies

Journal

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
Volume 11, Issue 15, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/jcm11154539

Keywords

beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist; propranolol; chemotherapy; combination cancer therapy; HIF; apoptosis; inflammation; angiogenesis; biomarker

Funding

  1. Ministry of Economy and Competitivity MINECO [SAF2017-83351R]
  2. CSIC (the National Research Council of Spain) [PIE 201820E073]

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Research on cancer therapies focuses on various processes influenced by the cellular and molecular microenvironment of the tumor. Different strategies, including the use of propranolol, have been tested to reduce malignancy and create a harmful microenvironment for the tumor. Propranolol has shown antitumoral properties and synergistic effects when used in combination with other drugs.
Research on cancer therapies focuses on processes such as angiogenesis, cell signaling, stemness, metastasis, and drug resistance and inflammation, all of which are influenced by the cellular and molecular microenvironment of the tumor. Different strategies, such as antibodies, small chemicals, hormones, cytokines, and, recently, gene editing techniques, have been tested to reduce the malignancy and generate a harmful microenvironment for the tumor. Few therapeutic agents have shown benefits when administered alone, but a few more have demonstrated clear improvement when administered in combination with other therapeutic molecules. In 2008 (and for the first time in the clinic), the therapeutic benefits of the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist, propranolol, were described in benign tumors, such as infantile hemangioma. Propranolol, initially prescribed for high blood pressure, irregular heart rate, essential tremor, and anxiety, has shown, in the last decade, increasing evidence of its antitumoral properties in more than a dozen different types of cancer. Moreover, the use of propranolol in combination therapies with other drugs has shown synergistic antitumor effects. This review highlights the clinical trials in which propranolol is taking part as adjuvant therapy at single administration or in combinatorial human trials, arising as a good pick and roll partner in anticancer strategies.

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