The Association of Valproic Acid and Incident Breast Cancer in a Managed Care Cohort
Abstract
The possible role of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) in breast cancer treatment is an area of active investigation. However, its potential as a preventive agent has not been studied. Valproic acid (VPA) is an HDACi which has been used for many decades to safely treat neurological disorders. The rationale for the use of HDACi in breast cancer prevention is a previously unexplored area of research that is based on compelling preclinical data. Epidemiologic studies showing an association between HDACi use and breast cancer incidence would be important evidence to support future prospective clinical trials of HDACi in cancer prevention. The aim of this project is to ascertain whether the risk of incident breast cancer is reduced in patients with a history of VPA use, and if so, to determine whether this effect is proportional to the duration of VPA use and whether all subtypes of breast cancer are impacted similarly. We have developed a database using de-identified data from the Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (KPNC) clinical and pharmacy records between 1997 and 2007. 22,488 breast cancer cases and 224,860 controls have been identified. Controls have been matched to cases
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA535177
Entities
People
- Eun-sil S. Hwang
Organizations
- University of California, San Francisco