這種常用藥會讓胃癌發生率加倍!大綱

A class of drugs commonly used to treat acid reflux and heartburn has been linked to a greater-than-doubled risk of developing stomach cancer, a study has found.

一項研究表明，一種常用來治療胃酸逆流和胃灼熱的藥物可能會使患胃癌的風險倍增。

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used to suppress acid production in the stomach and are among the most widely sold drugs in the world, but a 2017 study revealed that long-term use of the medicine can increase stomach cancer risks by almost 250 percent.

質子泵抑制劑被用來抑制胃酸的產生，是世界上最暢銷的藥物之一，但2017年的一項研究表明，長期使用這種藥物會使患胃癌的風險增加近250%。

The risks are associated with a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, carried by more than half of the world's population – most often harmlessly, but in a small percentage of people, the bug has been tied to the development of stomach cancer.

這種風險與一種幽門螺桿菌有關，世界上一半以上的人口都攜帶有這種細菌，它通常是無害的，但這種細菌與一小部分人患上胃癌有關。

Previous research found that people with an ongoing Helicobacter pylori infection taking a PPI stood a greater chance of developing a precursor to stomach cancer, called atrophic gastritis.

先前的研究表明，持續感染幽門螺桿菌的患者服用了質子泵抑制劑更有可能發展成胃癌的前兆，也就是萎縮性胃炎。

While the mechanism for this was unclear, it's long been considered that eliminating the infection prior to taking PPIs – which have been linked to various adverse effects – might reduce the prospects of getting cancer.

雖然這種原理尚不明確，但長期以來人們一直認爲，在服用與各種不良反應有關的質子泵抑制劑之前，消除感染可能會降低患癌症的風險。

But the recent research shows that might not be the case.

但最近的研究表明，情況可能並非如此。

"Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are an important treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection and have good safety records for short-term use," said researcher Ian Wong from University College London.

倫敦大學學院的研究人員伊恩·王表示，“質子泵抑制劑是治療幽門螺桿菌感染的重要藥物，短期使用的安全記錄良好。”

"However, unnecessary long-term use should be avoided."

“但是，應避免不必要的長期使用情況。”

Greater frequency of PPI usage and longer-term treatment with the medication appeared to up the likelihood of developing cancer further.

質子泵抑制劑的使用頻率過高，且使用這種藥物進行長期治療似乎會增加患癌症的可能性。

Daily PPI use was associated with a 4.55 times greater risk of cancer than baseline, and became as high as an 8-fold greater risk if the drugs were taken for more than three years.

每天服用質子泵抑制劑而罹患癌症的風險是平時的4.55倍，而這種藥物如果使用超過3年，其風險將高達8倍。

The researchers acknowledged that this is only an observational study, so we can't assume from the data that PPIs are the cause here – but nonetheless, it's an alarming finding that shows there's more going on than scientists previously realised.

研究人員表示，這只是一項觀察性研究，因此我們不能從數據中推斷出質子泵抑制劑是導致這一結果的原因，但儘管如此，這一令人擔憂的發現表明，引發癌症的可能還有比科學家此前意識到的更多的因素。