• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Avoiding over-the-counter heartburn meds could save cancer patients’ lives

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 16, 2016
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: Melissa Fabrizio

Something as seemingly harmless as a heartburn pill could lead cancer patients to take a turn for the worse. A University of Alberta study published in journal JAMA Oncology discovered that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are very common medications for heartburn and gastrointestinal bleeding, decrease effects of capecitabine, a type of chemotherapy usually prescribed to gastric cancer patients.

The study by Department of Oncology's Michael Sawyer, Michael Chu and their team included more than 500 patients and the results were conclusive: PPIs affected progression-free survival by more than a month; the overall survival in cancer patients was reduced by more than two months, and the disease control rate decreased by 11 per cent.

Although this research was focused on gastric cancer patients, Sawyer's team has followed up with another study in early stage colorectal cancer and discovered that those who took PPIs and capecitabine were also at risk for decreased cancer treatment efficacy. In that study, patients who took PPIs while on capecitabine had a decreased chance of being cured of their colorectal cancer.

PPIs are very popular for their efficacy and many of them are over-the-counter drugs (some common brands are Nexium, Prevacid and Protonix). Sawyer explains the risk of this interaction is high as some cancer patients may not even have these medications prescribed by a physician, but could obtain them easily over-the-counter at a pharmacy and accidentally alter their chemotherapy treatment without knowing it: "This could be a very common and underappreciated side effect. One study estimated that at 20 per cent of cancer patients in general take proton pump inhibitors."

The explanation for the negative outcome may be in gastric pH levels. Previous studies had been done on the interaction of this type of chemo with the antacid medication Maalox, without obtaining any alarming results; but unlike Maalox, PPI's are able to raise pH to a point where they could affect disintegration of capecitabine tablets. "Given that PPIs are much more potent and can essentially abolish gastric acidity there may be a significant interaction between capecitabine and PPIs," says Sawyer.

Sawyer, a clinical pharmacologist and medical oncologist and member of the U of A's Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry since 2001, is currently conducting more research on this topic to unveil more about the interaction of chemotherapy with other medications.

This discovery may lead to change the usual procedures for prescription of PPIs. Some cancer patients cannot discontinue these medications in order to treat bleedings or other gastric conditions that must be kept under control. "In that case, there are alternatives for oncologists or family doctors that become aware of this risk," says Sawyer. "Physicians should use caution in prescribing PPIs to patients on capecitabine and, if they must use PPIs due to gastrointestinal bleeding issues, maybe they should consider using other types of chemotherapy that don't present this interaction."

###

Media Contact

Ross Neitz
[email protected]
780-492-5986
@ualberta_fomd

http://www.med.ualberta.ca

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Figure 1

Senescence and extracellular vesicles: novel partners in vascular amyloidosis

March 29, 2023
Groundbreaking Lymphoma Tumor Model Paves Way for New Therapies

Groundbreaking lymphoma tumor model paves way for new therapies

March 29, 2023

Mimicking biological enzymes may be key to hydrogen fuel production

March 29, 2023

Downregulation of angulin-1/LSR induces malignancy in lung adenocarcinoma

March 29, 2023
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • ChatPandaGPT

    Insilico Medicine brings AI-powered “ChatPandaGPT” to its target discovery platform

    67 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • Northern and southern resident orcas hunt differently, which may help explain the decline of southern orcas

    44 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 11
  • Skipping breakfast may compromise the immune system

    43 shares
    Share 17 Tweet 11
  • Insular dwarfs and giants more likely to go extinct

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Senescence and extracellular vesicles: novel partners in vascular amyloidosis

Groundbreaking lymphoma tumor model paves way for new therapies

Mimicking biological enzymes may be key to hydrogen fuel production

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 48 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In