PPIs and GI Cancers: Impeached But Likely to Be Acquitted

In this edition of the journal, there is an important nested case-control study from investigators at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California. Proton pump inhibitor exposure for 10 or more years was not associated with any increased risk of gastric cancer. Small observed increased risks of colorectal, hepatocellular, and pancreatic cancers with 10 or more years of exposure are likely to have been spurious. If proton pump inhibitors were to be impeached on the basis of gastrointestinal cancer risk, they are likely to be subsequently acquitted.