Arterial hypertension and cancer
Cet article analyse le rôle de la chimiothérapie dans la survenue d'une hypertension, résume les règles générales en matière de prise en charge thérapeutique de l'hypertension chez les patients traités pour un cancer et évalue les effets des hypertenseurs sur le risque de cancer
Arterial hypertension and cancer are two of the most important causes of mortality in the world; correlations between these two clinical entities are complex and various. Cancer therapy using old (e.g., mitotic spindle poisons) as well as new (e.g., monoclonal antibody) drugs may cause arterial hypertension through different mechanisms; sometimes the increase of blood pressure levels may be responsible for chemotherapy withdrawal. Among newer cancer therapies, drugs interacting with the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factors) pathways are the most frequently involved in hypertension development. However, many retrospective studies have suggested a relationship between antihypertensive treatment and risk of cancer, raising vast public concern. The purposes of this brief review have then been to analyse the role of chemotherapy in the pathogenesis of hypertension, to summarize the general rules of arterial hypertension management in this field and finally to evaluate the effects of antihypertensive therapy on cancer disease.