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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1449062

Repurposing Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) for Colorectal Cancer: A Retrospective and Single Center Study

Provisionally accepted
Dominic Chi-Chung Foo Dominic Chi-Chung Foo Jiaxi Li Jiaxi Li Zheng Huang Zheng Huang Siming Sui Siming Sui Ryan Wai-Yan Sin Ryan Wai-Yan Sin Abraham Man Abraham Man Wai Lun Law Wai Lun Law Lui Ng Lui Ng *
  • The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Anti-hypertensive drugs have been reported to demonstrate anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic effects. This study aims to investigate the association between anti-hypertensive drugs and the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Methods: Clinical data of 1134 CRC patients with hypertensions and the prescription of anti-hypertensive drugs who had undergone curative surgery in our hospital between 2005 and 2015 were retrieved. Their survival data and immune cell population in circulatory blood were compared among different types of anti-hypertensive drugs and overall CRC patients. Results:The 5-year overall survival for the antihypertensives-treated patients (64.45.2%) was higher than the CRC patients in Hong Kong (58.2%). Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) group showed the best prognosis (79.1%) among different antihypertensive drug, particularly for advance stage or elderly patients, which are poor prognostic factors for overall CRC patients, demonstrated an obviously improved prognosis upon HCTZ treatment. Moreover, our data showed the recurrence rate was significantly lower for HCTZ group (18.3%) compared to non-HCTZ group (25.66.8%) and the reported rate (31%) of CRC patients in Hong Kong. Finally, patients with a lower pre-operative basophil level showed better overall and disease-free survival following HCTZ treatment. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the association of HCTZ treatment with a better prognosis of CRC patients.

    Keywords: colorectal cancer, drug repurposing, antihypertensive drugs, Hydrochlorothiazide, basophil, prognosis

    Received: 14 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Foo, Li, Huang, Sui, Sin, Man, Law and Ng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lui Ng, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.