THE long term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which treat acid reflux and ulcers, may not be linked to any increased risk of developing gastric cancer, a large new study published in The BMJ has found.
The findings are based on healthcare registry data in the five Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - over a 26-year period from 1994 to 2020.
The team identified 17,232 patients with stomach cancer and matched each one with 10 healthy participants as controls.
After taking into account factors that may have influenced results - such as age, sex, Helicobacter pylori, peptic ulcer disease, smoking and alcohol-related diseases, obesity or type 2 diabetes, and use of certain medications - they found no link between use of PPIs and increased risk of gastric cancer.
Concern that using PPIs could lead to stomach cancer has been ongoing since the 1980s, with some research suggesting their use doubles the risk.
However, the team behind the current study said previous research has been hampered by several methodological limitations, making this possible association uncertain, so they designed this study to overcome these issues.
"The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that long-term proton pump inhibitor use is associated with an increased risk of gastric adenocarcinoma," the researchers concluded.
"This finding should offer relief for patients needing long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy and is valuable for healthcare in clinical decision making," they added.
Read the study HERE. KB
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