Optimal Treatment of Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome and Related Conditions in Elderly Patients

Good clinical practice recommendations for proton pump inhibitor prescription and deprescription. A review by experts from the AMG

INTRODUCTION AND AIM

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely known drugs that are used quite frequently and indicated in both the short and long terms, in numerous acid-related diseases. Our aim was to produce an expert review that establishes recommendations for the adequate prescription and deprescription of PPIs.

METHODS

A group of experts in PPI use that are members of the Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología (AMG), after extensively reviewing the published literature and discussing each recommendation at a face-to-face meeting, prepared the present document of good clinical practice recommendations. This document is not intended to be a clinical practice guideline or utilize the methodology said format requires.

RESULTS

Eighteen experts on PPI use developed 22 good clinical practice recommendations for prescribing short-term, long-term, and on-demand PPIs, recognizing adverse events, and lastly, deprescribing PPIs, in acid-related diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

At present, there is scientific evidence on PPI use in numerous diseases, some in the short term (4-8 weeks), others on-demand (for short periods until symptoms improve), or in the long term (without suspending). Numerous adverse effects have been attributed to PPIs, but the majority have no well-established causal association. Nevertheless, PPIs should be suspended when there is no clear indication for their use. These recommendations aim to aid general physicians and specialists, with respect to PPI prescription and deprescription.

Successful Lifetime/Long-Term Medical Treatment of Acid Hypersecretion in Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES): Myth or Fact? Insights from an Analysis of Results of NIH Long-Term Prospective Studies of ZES

Analysis of the efficacy/pharmacology of long-term/lifetime medical treatment of acid hypersecretion in a large cohort of ZES patients in a prospective study. This study includes the results from all 303 patients with established ZES who were prospectively followed and received acid antisecretory treatment with either H2Rs or PPIs, with antisecretory doses individually titrated by the results of regular gastric acid testing. The study includes patients treated for short-term periods (<5 yrs), patients treated long-term (>5 yrs), and patients with lifetime treatment (30%) followed for up to 48 years (mean 14 yrs). Long-term/lifelong acid antisecretory treatment with H2Rs/PPIs can be successfully carried out in all patients with both uncomplicated and complicated ZES (i.e., with MEN1/ZES, previous Billroth 2, severe GERD). This is only possible if drug doses are individually set by assessing acid secretory control to establish proven criteria, with regular reassessments and readjustments. Frequent dose changes both upward and downward are needed, as well as regulation of the dosing frequency, and there is a primary reliance on the use of PPIs. Prognostic factors predicting patients with PPI dose changes are identified, which need to be studied prospectively to develop a useful predictive algorithm that could be clinically useful for tailored long-term/lifetime therapy in these patients.

Serum gastrin and cholecystokinin are associated with subsequent development of gastric cancer in a prospective cohort of Finnish smokers

Background

Gastrin, which induces gastric acid secretion, and a structurally similar hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK)-a potent acid inhibitor, may each play a role in gastric cancer. However, few studies have investigated this hypothesis in humans. We therefore investigated whether serum gastrin or CCK concentrations at baseline were associated with the incidence of gastric non-cardia adenocarcinomas (GNCA), oesophagogastric junctional adenocarcinomas (EGJA) or gastric carcinoid tumours over 24 years of follow-up in a study nested within the all-male Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study of Finnish smokers.

Methods

Totals of 283 incident GNCA, 96 EGJA and 10 gastric carcinoid cases, and 778 matched controls, were included in our analysis. Gastrin and CCK were measured using specific radioimmunoassays. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated by multivariable logistic regression with adjustment for all known or suspected confounding factors, including Helicobacter pylori seropositivity.

Results

Those with high gastrin (Q4 vs Q1), had an increased risk of GNCA (fully adjusted OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.21, 3.05) and gastric carcinoids, though the small number of carcinoid cases meant the fully adjusted model was unstable (age-adjusted continuous model OR: 4.67; 95% CI: 2.67, 8.15). CCK was associated with risk of GNCA only for those in Q3 relative to Q1 (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.96), and no significant trend was observed.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that high serum concentrations of gastrin may be associated independently with an increased risk of gastric cancer; the role of CCK in cancer risk is less clear.