Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) marked a before and after in the management of gastric acid‐related disorders since their introduction to the market in 1989. Due to a novel, highly effective mechanism of action blocking the last converging step of gastric acid secretion by parietal cells and very few and mostly tolerable side effects, these drugs quickly displaced other pharmacological compounds such as H2 antagonists as the first treatment choice for peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal ulcers, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated ulcers, and eradication of Helicobacter pylori, leading to an exponential increase in their prescription up to now. However, widespread PPI use has led to emerging evidence of long-term adverse effects not described previously, including increased risk of kidney, liver, and cardiovascular disease, dementia, enteroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, susceptibility to respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, and impaired absorption of nutrients. Although the evidence published thus far has not established strong correlations, it has been relevant enough to raise new questions about PPIs’ safety profile and reconsideration of their clinical indications. Hence, the aim of this review is to evaluate the association between PPI use and the risk of serious adverse effects given increasing concerns about the overuse of PPIs in the general population.

Testing for antibody against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) is a low-cost diagnostic method worldwide; however, an optimal screening test for HCV in patients with cancer has not been established. We sought to identify an appropriate screening test for HCV infection in patients with hematologic malignancies and/or hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT). Patients in our center were simultaneously screened using serological (anti-HCV) and molecular (HCV RNA) assays (February 2019–November 2019). In total, 214 patients were enrolled in this study. Three patients (1.4%) were positive for anti-HCV, and 2 (0.9%) were positive for HCV RNA. The overall percentage agreement was 99.5% (95% CI: 97.4–99.9). There were no cases of seronegative HCV virus infection. The positive percentage agreement was 66.7% (95% CI: 20.8–93.9), and the negative percentage agreement was 100.0% (95% CI: 98.2–100.0). Cohen kappa coefficient was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.41–1.00, P < .0001). The diagnostic yield of screening for chronic HCV infection in patients with cancer is similar for serologic and molecular testing.