Blood pressure medicines and survival in glioma
Original title: Effect of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors on Survival in Glioma Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This looks across many earlier studies rather than running a new one.
This only pools past studies in people, and it did not show a clear benefit.
The short version
A group of common blood pressure medicines did not help most people with glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary live longer.
What was studied. Researchers pooled seven earlier studies covering 2,660 people with glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary. They compared people who took these blood pressure medicines with people who did not.
What they found. Overall, the medicines did not help people live longer or slow tumor growth. Two smaller groups did better. One was people whose glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary had come back. The other took the medicines along with a cancer drug called bevacizumab.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If you already take one of these medicines for blood pressure, this gives no reason to stop. It also does not show a reason to start one to treat a brain tumor. Your own doctor can say what fits your case.
What it doesn't mean: This is a look back at studies that were already done. It is not a new trial, and overall it found no clear benefit. The better results came from small groups, and small groups can be wrong by chance. These pills are not a proven glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary treatment, and this is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, August 20, 2026 · Read the original
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