Recent research indicates PPI gastric cancer is more prevalent in patients who take PPI drugs for an extended length of time.

If you take heartburn medications such as Prilosec, Nexium or Prevacid, you could be at increased risk for stomach cancer from these drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPI drugs).

Research already has pointed to an increased risk of kidney disease and kidney failure from prolonged use of PPI drugs. This newly released study finds that the use of PPI drugs allegedly can double the risk of stomach cancer.

Among the PPI drugs that can have this effect are the prescription and over-the-counter versions of Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix and Zegerid. The short-acting and 24-hour varieties of these drugs are included.

Study Indicates Risk of PPI Gastric Cancer

According to an article by HealthDay News on WebMD’s website, the research indicated that the longer a patient took PPI drugs, the higher the risk of stomach cancer, which was between two and eight times that of someone who never took PPI drugs.

Patients suffering from a bacterial infection called Helicobacter pylori who took PPI drugs were particularly vulnerable to an increased risk of PPI gastric cancer. People infected with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria are at an increased risk of stomach cancer from that bacterial infection alone.

Researchers said that even though they could not prove PPI drugs cause PPI gastric cancer, an association between the two is indicated. Researchers also said anyone who has suffered from Helicobacter pylori should be careful using PPIs for an extended length of time.

The study was led by Dr. Wai Keung Leung, professor of gastroenterology at the University of Hong Kong. He and his team looked at 63,400 patients who were treated for Helicobacter pylori infection, which was tackled with two antibiotics and a PPI drug. Patients received a 7-day course of medication between the years 2003 and 2012.

Patients were observed for about seven years or until they were diagnosed with stomach cancer, passed away, or the study concluded.

Dr. Leung noted that 3,200 patients took PPI drugs for almost three years. During that same time, 22,000 patients were on H2 blockers such as Pepcid, Zantac and Tagamet.

He found 153  patients who had received PPI drugs and antibiotics eventually develop stomach cancer. Upon further testing, none of them had Helicobacter pylori. Each of them did suffer from inflamed stomach linings, a condition known as chronic gastritis.

The study indicated that PPI gastric cancer was twice as likely in patients taking PPI drugs compared to those taking H2 blockers, who showed no increased risk.

Dr. Leung noted that a patient who took PPI drugs each day suffered a risk of PPI gastric cancer that was four times that of patients who only took PPI drugs one day a week.

Patients who took PPI drugs for three years or more appeared to have a risk of PPI gastric cancer that was eight times more than that of people who did not take PPI drugs.