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New Study Reassures Millions on Anti-Acid Drug Safety
22 Jan
Summary
- Long-term use of common anti-acid PPI drugs may not raise stomach cancer risk.
- Study analyzed over 17,000 stomach cancer patients across Nordic countries.
- Previous studies linking PPIs to cancer had methodological limitations.
A significant study published in The BMJ suggests that long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), commonly prescribed for acid reflux and ulcers, does not appear to elevate the risk of developing stomach cancer. Researchers meticulously examined data from a large cohort of over 17,000 individuals diagnosed with stomach cancer and 170,000 controls across Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, spanning the years 1994 to 2000.
The extensive analysis, led by experts at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, found that individuals using PPIs for over a year showed no increased incidence of gastric adenocarcinoma compared to those not using the drugs. The study authors posited that previous research suggesting a link might have been influenced by methodological issues, such as including short-term PPI use or failing to account for confounding variables.
