study questions, do PPIs increase risk esophageal cancer, (please dont jump to conclusion

Jobe et al, Pittsburg university have a study out that suggests bile acids may have much to do with esophageal cancer rates, and PPIs may increase risk for developing cancer...the study is complex and please dont just read the headline and then throw away your medication

this article is grist for talk with our doctors and nurses , OK?

but certainly the study merits questioning the value of some (not all) of the drug solutions

i wonder if H2 acid blockers are implicated...they are not mentioned in the article

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11213/1164375-114-0.stm

heres a quote

"Heartburn meds tied to cancer
Popular drugs may mask risk for disease
Monday, August 01, 2011
By David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"..... long-term use of these drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors, can have unexpected consequences, a new study shows.

Blair A. Jobe and his research team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine say the severity of symptoms for GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, has an inverse relationship with the presence of Barrett's esophagus, a precursor to a lethal form of esophageal cancer known as adenocarcinoma.

The concern is that good symptom control does not reduce cancer risk but actually increases it.

The study, published online by the journal Archives of Surgery, also raises questions whether proton pump inhibitors might cause the cancer, whose incidence per million has risen sixfold from 1975 to 2001, a time when PPIs came on the market with increasing use. It's the fastest growing cancer in the nation, outpacing melanoma, breast and prostate cancers."

if the link above doesnt work, thry the one below or search
jobe esophageal cancer PPI pittsburg
and it should be the top hit

Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11213/1164375-114-0.stm#ixzz1USI1Rgt4

maybe we are lab rats ,indeed...but

if there is one thing i have learned form having gerd, its that cause and effect are very difficult to figure out

and heres the thing, who knows if these studies are able to tease out "self selection", that is the people who take the PPIs and take em longer and more often are the ones who "know"thaey are at greater risk

the study tries to look at people with identical symptom profiles etc, but this is hard o do

and then there is the idea that, ok, if PPIs add risk to cancer...what is the mechanism...the study seems to suggest that since PPIs dont stop reflux , just increase PH, then is the real source of damage and risk may be bile which is relatively unaffected by these medications, or pepsin, or others

when we are looking at studies trying to track what happens over a decade of medication use, how can we avoid serving as lab rats

because imagine the screaming and table pounding if FDA made americans wait 10 years during additional PPI testing after clinical trials phase two testing...or waiting an additional 10 years for torax linx, for an example

on one level or another we are all lab rats

Mock turtle are you serious? 10 years for the lynx?!!! That makes me want to cry. What are you going to do?

I'm right there with you. I want to wait for the linx but I don't think I'll make it. In fact I'm talking to a surgeon on the sixth. Maybe the FDA will pull a miracle or I'll find money in my backyard to take a trip to London

hi mock turtle,

hang in there.

With this sickness you will have Good times and Bad times... The trick is too have more good times then bad times...

Perhaps you need to figure out a strategy to have when your family visits so you don't stray from your diet.

Me, i always have my own food with me.

Feel better.

Jesse

thanks mock turtle for the link, its scary but good to know i guess

Sunbeam, it is so frustrating but we can make it. I'm actually allergic to ppis and have been dealing with the pain head on. I don't think you can win either way. But do what you feel is right for you and your body. I keep waiting for the linx but I think I'll end up with the Nissen in the next month or so. Good luck to all of us!

I read this and I don't understand how they are drawing the link between PPI's and cancer. They say that people without symptoms on PPI's have a higher chance of cancer than people with symptoms on PPI's. Both groups are on PPI's. At least that is what I remember reading. So that would not show in any way PPI's and cancer risk...its just saying you have a higher risk of cancer if PPI's take all your symptoms away as opposed to leaving some with you...right?

MMM - your last paragraph made my day a little bit. It is what my wife tells me. I need to do that more.

I did read that even w/ Barrets, risk of E. cancer is lower for you than other more common cancers. Still, why take the risk? that is why I like to be on top of it...

thanks. I will.

Actually apple cider vinegar works just as well as PPI's for me, but ALSO gives me the right side pain. That made me at least think the right side pain isn't serious. It does become literally unbearable as it progresses though...

I have thought about starting ranitidine but at a super small dose and not every day. We'll see. Thing is, I also get 3-4+ weeks of literally no symptoms, which makes me always think a non-medication solution is always a close possibility.

Align seemed to help the right side pain (and the GERD), so I am taking it. I have figured I might be able to take Ranitidine and Align together and not get the right side pain. We'll see...

I am a couple weeks away from shifting back to school again and am kind of holding off til then, just trying to manage for now while I finish up a summer job. I did buy Aloe Vera to try, but left it with my wife and won't be able to give it a shot for a few weeks (it is an aloe vera that is supposed to help stomach acidity)...

I am glad you are doing better after those 6 months. Hopefully I'll join the club shortly. Sadly it seems GERD is a battle that is never definitively won...