Avoiding over-the-counter heartburn meds could save cancer patients' lives

(University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry) Something as seemingly harmless as a heartburn pill could lead cancer patients to take a turn for the worse. A University of Alberta study published in the journal JAMA Oncology discovered that proton pump inhibitors, which are very common medications for heartburn and gastrointestinal bleeding, decrease effects of capecitabine, a type of chemotherapy usually prescribed to gastric cancer patients.