Omeprazole Treatment in Patients w/ H. Pylori May Increase Cancer Risk – (09-11-00)

Omeprazole Treatment in Patients w/ H. Pylori May Increase Cancer Risk

Prilosec is designed to lower the amount of stomach acid, as are numerous other “ulcer drugs”. The strange thing is that very, very few patients produce TOO MUCH stomach acid. Quite the opposite. Consider this. You have an open wound on your arm. You pour a little bit of alcohol on it. You then pour alot of alcohol on it. Think you can tell the difference? Of course not. It’s the WOUND that’s important, not the amount of irritant. Stomach acid is incredibly important to our digestion and absorption of many important nutrients. This article stresses how important stomach acid can be to prevent stomach cancer. Many natural products help to heal the wound; licorice (DGL) and cabbage extract are perfect examples.

Gastroenterology 2000;119:339-347 Helicobacter pylori infection increases the degree of acid inhibition and accompanying changes in the gastric environment induced by omeprazole treatment, which may subsequently increase the risk of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. Achlorhydria and hypochlorhydria increase the risk of gastric carcinoma, presumably by fostering the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds (NOC). Chronic omeprazole treatment in the face of ongoing H. pylori infection can lead to profound, long-term suppression of acid production, the authors explain, thereby possibly increasing the risk of gastric cancer. “H. pylori-positive subjects receiving omeprazole have both the altered intragastric milieu associated with gastric cancer and the inflamed mucosa,” the authors conclude. “The potential long-term adverse effects of this combination are of considerable concern.”