PPIs linked with gastric cancer ‘regardless of H.pylori’

The study suggests risk rises with longer-term use, the researchers say
Reuters Health Staff writer

Taking PPIs is associated with increased risk of developing gastric cancer regardless of Helicobacter pylori eradication status, according to findings from Korea, a country with a high prevalence of the malignancy.

Researchers examined data in the Korean National Health Insurance Service database on 6877 patients who initiated PPI therapy and the same number of propensity-matched controls who didn’t use PPIs.

During a median follow-up of 4.3 years, 118 patients in the PPI group developed gastric cancer, compared with 40 cases of gastric cancer in the non-PPI group.

Compared with non-PPI users, patients who used PPIs for 30 days or more had more than double the likelihood of developing gastric cancer.