Zantac or Pepcid for breast cancer?

dood

Has anyone heard of this yet? Was in the yahoo news list on 7-1-16. Article came from Dalhousie Medical School researchers. Don't know how reliable this is but wanted to see if anyone had feedback..

HuskerFan

Interesting article.....I've been on ranitidine for quite a while for reflux and was diagnosed with IDC in April.

TectonicShift

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ChiSandy

Nope, TectonicShift. They are two distinctly different classes of drugs that address acid reflux by very different mechanisms. Zantac and Pepcid are what’s called “H2 agonists” or “H2 blockers.” Before these drugs were developed, antacids (calcium carbonate such as Tums or aluminum-based antacids like Maalox) were the standard of care--coating the esophagus, providing a barrier and the slightly alkaline character neutralized much of the acid. But they neither truly altered the acid nor prevented oversecretion of it. H2 blockers inhibit the hydrogen atoms in the hydrocholoric acid molecule and make the acid less irritating and inflammatory. Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs (Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Protonix, Dexilant and their respective generic versions) actually inhibit secretion of stomach acid, limiting it to the minimum necessary for digestion. But without sufficient stomach acid, certain nutrients aren’t effectively absorbed (e.g., calcium carbonate taken for bones is poorly-absorbed by those on PPIs, though it can still, via physical barrier mechanisms, temporarily relieve breakthrough heartburn). That’s why those of us on PPIs who need calcium supplements must take it in the form of the more expensive (and less pleasant) calcium citrate.

solfeo

To muddy the waters even further I have been in touch with the lead researcher of the tetrathiomolybdate breast cancer trial, because I am taking TM for elevated copper/ceruloplasmin and not having the desired results. She said adding a PPI might do the trick, then went on to list Pepcid and Zantac, which I know are not PPIs. I wrote her back this morning for clarification. If H2 blockers are expected to work as well as PPIs then that could be a better choice for me with this possible added benefit to immunity.

TechtonicShift - From what she said I gleaned that acid reducers can really drive down the Cp level, which is what then decreases circulating endothelial progenitor cells. I don't know that PPIs have a direct effect on those cells, other than contributing to the copper reduction. If you have seen something that states otherwise, would appreciate a link because I'm trying to decide if I should take one or not.

solfeo

TM researcher confirmed that anything that reduces stomach acid, so PPIs or H2 blockers, will boost the effectiveness of TM. In that case picking one that might have other benefits for cancer seems like a reasonable idea for anyone on TM. I don't know anyone else who takes it but I'll leave the info here for anyone who might go searching in the future.