Effect of lansoprazole on peptic ulcers

Lansoprazole is the first proton pump inhibitor developed in Japan. We studied the clinical efficacy of lansoprazole 30 mg q.d. on peptic ulcers and the subsequent relapse rates. The endoscopic healing rate of gastric ulcers (n = 86) after 8 weeks of treatment and duodenal ulcers (n = 52) after 6 weeks of treatment were 94.2 and 96.2%, respectively. The endoscopic S2-stage shift rates in gastric and duodenal ulcers were 45.5 and 65.4%, respectively. Factors affecting healing rates of gastric ulcers included colonization by Helicobacter pylori, the size and depth of the ulcers, pretreatment stage, and ulcer history, whereas those factors did not influence healing in duodenal ulcers. The clearance rates of H. pylori after lansoprazole treatment were 54.5% in patients with gastric ulcer and 66.7% in those with duodenal ulcer. The cumulative relapse rates after 1 year with standard maintenance therapy of H2-receptor antagonists (ranitidine, famotidine, and cimetidine) were 15.8% for gastric ulcer and 21.2% for duodenal ulcer. In conclusion, lansoprazole is highly effective in peptic ulcer disease and there are few relapses after treatment. Furthermore, it is suggested that lansoprazole is efficacious against H. pylori at usual clinical doses.