Is There a Link Between Blood Pressure Medication and Cancer --
Particularly Kidney Cancer? Dec. 3, 1999 (New York) -- Do blood-
pressure-lowering drugs (antihypertensive agents) cause cancer?
Could they possibly prevent it? These issues were addressed here
at a special session on cancer risks at the 14th Scientific
Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH). Although
one study found ACE inhibitors to be protective, another sparked
controversy by linking diuretics to renal cell carcinoma (a form
of kidney cancer). Treatment with an ACE inhibitor not only can
lower blood pressure and protect kidneys but also can
significantly reduce one's risk of dying from cancer --
especially a woman's risk of death from breast or gynecologic
cancers, according to John L. Reid, professor of medicine at the
University of Glasgow in Scotland. Reid is the lead researcher
for a study of 5,297 patients taking antihypertensive
medications who were followed-up for 16 years. Reid tells WebMD
that recent studies suggest tha