Esophageal Cancer Prevented By Proton Pump Inhibitor Plus Aspirin

CHICAGO—A 25 per cent risk reduction for esophageal cancer was found to be associated with prophylactic therapy consisting of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and aspirin in the phase three randomized ASPECT multicenter study from the United Kingdom reported at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

The trial investigated long-term daily high doses of esomeprazole (80 mg or 20 mg daily) together with aspirin (300 mg) among 2563 patients who had Barrett’s Esophagus (BE) and were therefore at high risk of the disease.

Although the study focused on people with Barrett’s Esophagus, lead study author Janusz Jankowski, MD, PhD, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland and Consultant Clinical Adviser, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK told the Audio Journal of Oncology he believed that any person with heartburn could consider taking a high-dose proton pump inhibitor and aspirin after speaking with their doctor. But he warned that patients should not self-medicate since the benefits so far had been found in the specific subset of patients who had BE.