Recent Studies Show Other Side Effects, including certain Cancers, with Long-term PPI Use

Santa Clara, CAFor more than a decade, studies have shown that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are associated with serious side effects, including kidney failure and other injuries. Researchers now add to “other” injuries biliary track cancer, gallbladder cancer and cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and might be carcinogenic.

As of January 2020, over 15,000 PPI lawsuits had been filed alleging PPIs such as Nexium and Prilosec cause kidney kidney problems, bone fractures and heart attacks. With researchers now linking PPIs to certain cancers, proton pump inhibitor cancer lawsuits could grow exponentially.

PPI and Biliary Track Cancer

Biliary track cancer (also known as cholangiocarcinoma) is cancer that occurs in the bile ducts, which are tubes that transport bile from the liver. This type of cancer is thought to be caused by irritants like alcohol and diseases like hepatitis. Possibly proton pump inhibitors are irritants. According to the American Cancer Society, there seems to be a link between bile duct cancer and “things that irritate and inflame the bile ducts, whether it’s bile duct stones, infestation with a parasite, or something else.”

In May 2021, a study was published in Hepatology: researchers in Sweden conducted the study to assess whether “prolonged use of PPI increases the risk of incident biliary tract carcinoma”. Researchers concluded that long-term use of PPIs was associated with an “increased risk of gallbladder, intrahepatic, and extrahepatic bile ducts cancer than the general population.” The extensive study identified 738,881 PPI users from the Swedish prescribed Drug Register from 2005 through 2012.

PPI and Gallbladder Cancer

The journal Gut wrote a letter regarding PPI use associated with increased risk of cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and that it “might possibly be carcinogenic”. If left untreated, cholecystitis can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening complications, such as a gallbladder rupture.

Treatment for cholecystitis often involves gallbladder removal. (The BMJ cites Gut as the “leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology and has an established reputation for publishing first class clinical research of the alimentary tract, the liver, biliary tree and pancreas. Gut delivers up-to-date, authoritative, clinically oriented coverage in all areas of gastroenterology and hepatology.”) 

In the letter titled "Proton pump inhibitors and the risk of gallbladder cancer": a hospital-based case– control study, the authors go on to say that no research has been conducted to investigate the association of PPIs with gallbladder cancer (GBC). But they acknowledge a hospital-based study was carried out in China to explore the association between PPIs and GBC risk; the study was  carried out from 2002 to 2018, involving 3,030 subjects. The Gut authors conclude that the Chinese study indicates PPI use as a “significant risk factor for GBC progression, which seems to be dose-dependent”.

Recent PPI Lawsuit

Most PPI consumers still believe drugs such as Nexium and Prilosec are safe and that the benefits outweigh risks. But studies such as above and thousands of PPI lawsuits show otherwise. For instance, in a recent wrongful death lawsuit filed by in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Daisy Perez claims her husband Domingo died of metastatic gastric cancer after taking Nexium and Prilosec.