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From: Hawk
Date: 5/3/00
Time: 6:12:58 AM
Remote Name: 205.148.239.13
Dr. DeMeester is a well respected doctor and researcher, so, his observations do carry a lot of weight. But, one has to remember, this is the field of research. Studies, as far as I am aware, have all been with animal subjects. The language of the article is full of words like maybe, perhaps... and Dr. DeMeester includes the following statement: Dr. DeMeester believes that for these reasons, the increasing reliance on powerful acid suppression medication is directly linked to the rise in Barrett's esophagus and the cancer related to it. Although he is concerned that increasing availability of over-the-counter H 2 blockers may exacerbate the problem even further, he cautioned that the acid-suppression therapy link with Barrett's is not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship. "However," says Dr. DeMeester, "all the data we have on lung cancer and smoking is based on the same kind o relationship, and I cannot dispense this relationship as being unimportant.
So, we will have to wait and see what further research shows. If anything I would say that this would indicate that one should be checked via endoscopy on reasonable schedule.