ArticleDrug safety2021
Risk of Cancer in Association with Ranitidine and Nizatidine vs Other H2 Blockers: Analysis of the Japan Medical Data Center Claims Database 2005-2018.
Article in Drug safety, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ranitidine Use and Incident Cancer in a Multinational Cohort.JAMA network open · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
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- Myasthenia gravis following the initiation of statin therapy: A multinational self-controlled case series study.Journal of internal medicine · 2026Observational
- Association Between Long-term Use of HJournal of Cancer · 2026Article
- Non-cancer risks among female breast cancer survivors: a matched cohort study in Japan.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Article
- Article
- Assessment of cancer risk associated with 7-nitroso-3-(trifluoromethyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro[1,2,4] triazolo-[4,3-a]pyrazine-contaminated sitagliptin use: A retrospective cohort study.Journal of diabetes investigation · 2024Article
- Pharmacoepidemiological Research on N-Nitrosodimethylamine-Contaminated Ranitidine Use and Long-Term Cancer Risk: A Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Observational
- Effect of Ranitidine Intake on the Risk of Gastric Cancer Development.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Risk of Cancer Following the Use of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Contaminated Ranitidine Products: A Nationwide Cohort Study in South Korea.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionIn September 2019, ranitidine and nizatidine were suggested to contain N-nitrosodimethylamine, a carcinogenic substance. People have since been concerned about the potential impact of ranitidine/nizatidine use on the risk of cancer.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the risk of cancer among people receiving ranitidine or nizatidine compared with other histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2 blockers) [cimetidine, famotidine, roxatidine, and lafutidine].
methodsIn the Japan Medical Data Center claims database (comprising people aged < 75 years) from 2005 to 2018, we identified new adult users of H2 blockers and classified them into ranitidine/nizatidine users and other H2 blocker users. We estimated the incidence of cancer diagnosis in each group and conducted a multivariable Cox regression analysis.
resultsWe identified 113,745 new users of ranitidine/nizatidine (median age 41.2 years [interquartile range 31.7-51.1]; 49.1% men; median follow-up 2.4 years [1.1-4.5]) and 503,982 new users of other H2 blockers (median age 40.9 years [31.1-51.2]; 51.0% men; median follow-up 2.3 years [0.9-4.2]). The incidence rate of cancer diagnosis was 6.39 (95% confidence interval 6.13-6.66) cases per 1000 person-years (top three sites: breast 14.8%; colorectal 14.6%; and stomach 11.5%) in the ranitidine/nizatidine group and 6.17 (6.05-6.30) cases per 1000 person-years (colorectal 14.7%; breast 13.5%; and stomach 11.2%) in the other H2 blockers group. The adjusted hazard ratio (ranitidine/nizatidine users vs other H2 blocker users) was 1.02 (0.98-1.07). The results were similar by follow-up length, by cancer site, and when ranitidine and nizatidine users were separately compared with the other H2 blockers group. By cumulative dose, the adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) was 1.03 (0.98-1.08) from 1 to 180 defined daily doses (DDDs), 1.00 (0.73-1.39) from 181 to 365 DDDs, 0.95 (0.61-1.48) from 366 to 730 DDDs, and 0.83 (0.45-1.55) at > 730 DDDs.
conclusionsWe found no evidence that ranitidine/nizatidine is associated with an increased risk of cancer, although further studies with more accurate measurement of exposure, inclusion of older people, and longer follow-up may be needed.
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