PPIs and cancer
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Proton pump inhibitors may reverse the resistance of solid cancerous tumors to cytotoxic drugs, according to a study in the Nov. 17 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The researchers pretreated cancerous cell lines with omeprazole, esomaprazole or pantoprazole on the hypothesis that the PPIs "could inhibit the acidification of the tumor micro-environment" and increase cell sensitivity to cytotoxic agents. PPIs did sensitize tumor cell lines to anti-cancer agents cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil and vinblastine, and in vivo experiments showed omeprazole induced cisplatin sensitivity in human solid tumors. Authors maintain the results "open new possibilities for the treatment of drug-resistant tumors"...