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A comment on Zantac’s Maker Kept Quiet About Cancer Risks for 40 Years.

Re:Zantac’s Maker Kept Quiet About Cancer Risks for 40 Years by trashface on Thursday February 16, 2023 @07:21AM (#34817772)
Anyone know why famotidine, a similar med (aka Pepcid) doesn't have this problem? Or does it, and we just haven't heard about it? I took famotidine for years, ironically I kept hearing during that time that Zantac was more effective, but never switched.
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Re:Zantac’s Maker Kept Quiet About Cancer Risks for 40 Years by tyingq on Thursday February 16, 2023 @01:32PM (#34823309)
It's a different class of drug. Zantac is a PPI (proton pump inhibitor). Other drugs in the same PPI class are Prilosec (Omeprazole) and Nexium (Esomeprazole), and while not recalled, could have similar problems.

Pepcid (famotidine) and Tagamet (Cimetidine) are H2 blockers, another class of heartburn medication, that hasn't shown the same issues.

On the other hand, untreated chronic reflux is a big driver for stomach and esophageal cancers. So it's possible that having taken Zantac for a long time was less risky cancer-wise than not taking anything.

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Re:Zantac’s Maker Kept Quiet About Cancer Risks for 40 Years by jamesadney on Thursday February 16, 2023 @03:24PM (#34825425)
Zantac (ranitidine) is an H2 blocker, not a PPI.
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Re:Zantac’s Maker Kept Quiet About Cancer Risks for 40 Years by tyingq on Thursday February 16, 2023 @03:33PM (#34825581)
Ugh, yep, you're correct. Too late to edit and fix, unfortunately.
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