Long-term use of anti-acid medication may not increase the risk of stomach cancer, according to a recent study. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI), commonly prescribed for acid reflux and ulcers, have been under scrutiny.
Concerns linking these drugs to gastric cancers have persisted since the 1980s when they were first introduced. Previous research has suggested a connection between PPIs and stomach cancers.
However, researchers argue that previous studies are « hampered by several methodological limitations, making this possible association uncertain ». Consequently, they embarked on a new study designed to « consider all the main limitations of the existing literature ».
The team, led by experts from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, analysed data from all patients with gastric and oesophageal cancer from Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Sweden between 1994 and 2000. The study encompassed more than 17,000 individuals diagnosed with stomach cancer, compared to 170,000 who did not have the disease.
Long-term use of PPIs – exceeding a year – was noted in 10% of people with stomach cancer and 9.5% of those without. « No association was found between long-term proton pump inhibitor use and gastric adenocarcinoma, » they reported in The BMJ.
They suggested that previous research linking PPI use to stomach cancer may have been distorted due to the inclusion of PPI use initiated just prior to a cancer diagnosis; these studies focused on short-term prescriptions and failed to account for other variables.
The authors said: « This finding should offer relief for patients needing long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy and is valuable for clinical decision making in healthcare settings. »
However, they also cautioned: « However, long-term proton pump inhibitor use might cause side effects and increase the risk of some other potentially serious conditions such as Clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea, osteoporosis, and vitamin or electrolyte malabsorption. »
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