New research suggests that the use of Nexium and stomach cancer may be linked. For those who used PPI medication like Nexium for heartburn, this new information is of great concern.

Researchers from Centre for Translational Microbiome Research at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, according to Science Trends, found an increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma among those who to took proton pump inhibitors. Nexium and stomach cancer have been connected in a few studies already.

A proton pump inhibitor or PPI like Nexium are used worldwide by millions of people to treat heartburn and acid reflux symptoms. PPIs work by stopping the “pumps” in the stomach that cause excess acid. When the medication is absorbed into the bloodstream, it sends signals to the cells in the stomach lining that make acid, telling them to decrease acid production.

This can alleviate painful and harmful symptoms in patients with heartburn, acid reflux, certain types of nausea and GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). Proton pump inhibitors have been widely successful in helping millions of patients.

PPIs are often available without a prescription, and it is thought that one in ten people take some sort of PPI to treat stomach symptoms. However, with this new research connecting PPIs like Nexium and stomach cancer, patients and doctors should be aware of this possible risk.

Researchers at the Centre for Translational Microbiome Research at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm looked at the relationship between Swedish long-term PPI users and the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Esophageal adenocarcinoma is essentially the cancer of the esophagus (the tube connecting the stomach to the throat).

Researchers compared the frequency of esophageal adenocarcinoma in adults who had used PPIs like Nexium between 2005 and 2012 for at least six months with the cancer risk for the entire Swedish population at large.

Science Trends reports, “For people with reflux, [the researchers] expected a higher risk of esophageal cancer, since even with treatment, the risk of cancer will probably remain higher than someone who never had reflux.” Yet, their findings also suggested that the “risk of these cancer types may be higher among those using PPIs to protect their stomach and had no reported stomach problems.”

Essentially, among those who used PPIs in a chronic (consistent and long-term) way, researchers found an increased risk of stomach cancer.

This is not the only study to find an increased risk of PPIs like Nexium and stomach cancer. In October 2017, a stomach cancer study was published that found the connection between PPIs like Nexium and stomach cancer increases the longer a patient takes proton pump inhibitors. In this study, a group of patients who were treated for Helicobacter pylori infection leading to stomach ulcers was studied.

The study found that this risk could be between two and eight times of an increase. The rate of increase depended on how long the PPI medication was taken.

Eradicating the Helicobacter pylori, in a person’s stomach is supposed to reduce their stomach cancer risk. However, this study found that when taking a PPI, even if the Helicobacter pylori was eradicated, the patient had a 43 percent increased risk of stomach cancer.

If you or someone you love has taken Nexium and stomach cancer has been a diagnosis, you may benefit from speaking with an experienced attorney.