==Common prescription and over-the-counter medications allegedly linked to stomach cancer and kidney damage - with 100,000 Aussies eligible for a class action lawsuit
Heartburn and reflux drugs allegedly linked to cancer==
Class action investigation has been launched
Medications commonly prescribed and bought over-the-counter for heartburn and gastric reflux have allegedly been linked to stomach cancer and kidney failure, and Australian sufferers could be eligible for compensation.
Melbourne-based law firm Shine Lawyers has launched a class action investigation into the health impacts from drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPI), with an estimated 100,000 Australians eligible.
Those eligible to join the class action will need to 'have been diagnosed with stomach cancers or kidney failure after you started taking one (or more) of the PPI drugs'.
The PPI drugs being investigated include Nexium or Nexium 24HR (or drugs containing esomeprazole), Losec (omeprazole), Somac (pantoprazole), Pariet (rabeprazole) and Zoton FasTabs (lansoprazole).
Somac and Zoton require prescriptions, while Pariet is pharmacist only.
Craig Allsopp, Joint Head of Class Actions at Shine Lawyers, said PPIs 'reduce the amount of acid made by the stomach and are used to treat acid reflux and stomach ulcers'.
'PPIs are some of the most-prescribed medicines on the market and consumers typically take PPIs for longer periods and at higher doses than recommended,' he said.
PPIs work by decreasing the enzymes that line the stomach and produce digestive acid, relieving the burning symptoms in the gut and throat.
However this can result in an increase in gastrin levels, which is a hormone produced in the gastrointestinal, urinary tract and nervous system.
Gastrin increases have been linked to cancer cell formation.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13824185/heartburn-reflux-medication-allegedly-linked-cancer-class-action.html