The effect of propranolol on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: A nationwide population-based study

BackgroundBeta-blockers can reduce recurrence, metastasis, and mortality in various cancers. In this study, we investigated the effect of propranolol, a non-selective beta-blocker on overall survival (OS) in unresectable/metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and on recurrence-free survival (RFS) in resectable, curable HCC.MethodsData were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between January 2000 and December 2013. Propranolol users (for >1 year) and non-propranolol users were matched using a 1:2 propensity score in both cohorts.ResultsThe unresectable/metastatic HCC cohort comprised 1,560 propranolol users and 3,120 non-propranolol users (control group). On multivariate Cox regression analysis of HCC mortality, propranolol significantly reduced the mortality risk by 22% (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72–0.84, P ConclusionThis study revealed that propranolol could improve OS in unresectable/metastatic HCC.