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Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies / Cancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response · Journal article
Diseases · August 12, 2026
Raises a question worth testing. It does not answer one.
This scoping review of 37 preclinical studies examines whether antihypertensive drugs—particularly β-blockers like propranolol—might be repositioned for melanoma treatment. While some studies reported antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, antiangiogenic, and immunomodulatory effects, findings were heterogeneous, context-dependent, and frequently contradicted; the authors conclude that current evidence is insufficient to establish reproducible efficacy or translational validity and does not yet support clinical investigation.
Scoping review following JBI methodology, reported per PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Preclinical studies (in vitro and animal models) investigating antihypertensive drugs (β-blockers, renin–angiotensin system agents, calcium channel blockers) in melanoma models.. Intervention: Antihypertensive drugs (β-blockers, particularly propranolol; renin–angiotensin system agents; calcium channel blockers) in preclinical melanoma models.. Compared with: Control conditions in preclinical models (standard comparators not formally specified in source text)..
β-Blockers, particularly propranolol, were the most frequently investigated agents (n = 21 studies). Several studies reported antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, antiangiogenic, and immunomodulatory effects; however, findings were not uniform. Heterogeneous outcomes included absent direct antiproliferative effects, biphasic dose responses, lack of angiogenic effects, and results dependent on drug concentration, treatment schedule, and experimental model.
Safety was not reported in the material analysed. Check the source before drawing any conclusion about harm.
This evidence does not support clinical use. Practitioners should not consider antihypertensive agents as adjunctive melanoma therapy based on current preclinical data, which remain too heterogeneous and methodologically limited to guide clinical trial design or patient treatment.
A scoping review of preclinical evidence (37 studies, mostly in vitro and animal models) mapping antihypertensive drugs for melanoma; findings are heterogeneous, context-dependent, and the source explicitly states evidence is insufficient to establish reproducible efficacy or translational validity.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
This evidence does not support clinical use. Practitioners should not consider antihypertensive agents as adjunctive melanoma therapy based on current preclinical data, which remain too heterogeneous and methodologically limited to guide clinical trial design or patient treatment.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Background/Objectives: Melanoma remains one of the most aggressive skin cancers worldwide, with rising incidence and persistent therapeutic challenges, particularly in advanced diseases. Drug repositioning has emerged as a cost- and time-efficient strategy for identifying adjunctive treatments, and antihypertensive medications have attracted attention for their potential off-target antitumor and immunomodulatory effects. This scoping review aimed to map and critically appraise the evidence on the repositioning of antihypertensive drugs for melanoma management. Methods: The review followed the JBI methodology, and the results were reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Searches were conducted in July 2025 and updated in May 2026 in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. For Methodological Quality and Risk-of-bias assessment, the SYRCLE Risk of Bias tool was employed for animal studies. Results: This review included 37 studies. β-Blockers, particularly propranolol, were the most frequently investigated agents (n = 21). Several studies reported antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, antiangiogenic, and immunomodulatory effects; however, these findings were not uniform. Absent direct antiproliferative effects, biphasic dose responses, lack of angiogenic effects, and outcomes dependent on drug concentration, treatment schedule, and experimental model were also reported. Agents targeting the renin–angiotensin system and calcium channels similarly produced heterogeneous and context-dependent findings. The animal studies frequently presented high or unclear risk of bias, particularly because of incomplete reporting of randomization, allocation concealment, and blinding. No formal methodological quality assessment was performed for the in vitro studies. Conclusions: Antihypertensive agents, particularly β-blockers, show promising but heterogeneous preclinical signals in melanoma. However, the available evidence is not sufficient to establish reproducible efficacy or translational validity. Standardized and methodologically rigorous preclinical studies are required before these agents can be considered for clinical investigation as adjunctive melanoma therapies.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.