Nutrigenomic approach to tackle the unpleasant journey to Helicobacter pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis

Abstract

While dietary habits or nutritional intake continue to rank as significant factors influencing the incidence of cancer, there have been considerable scientific uncertainties about who will benefit, but who about will not benefit from nutrition. This might be due to inadequate knowledge about an individual's genetic background, the cumulative effect of nutrients on genetic expression profiles, ambiguous clinical differences between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and the lack of information about active protein induction. During the past 200 years of nutrition research, we have experienced revolutionary advances in both chemistry and genomics. According to the high expectations for tailored medicine, a nutrigenomic approach harboring tremendous potential to change the future of dietary guideline and personal recommendations will provide an essential basis for personalized dietary recommendations to prevent common multifactorial diseases decades before their overt clinical manifestation. In the current review, we introduce our efforts to discover Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-related disease biomarkers applicable for diagnostic, predictive and therapeutic purposes using several kinds of technology. For instance, based on publications showing the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of Korean red ginseng on mitigating H. pylori-associated gastric atrophy, a nutrigenomic approach allows us to confirm that Korean red ginseng prevents H. pylori-associated gastric cancer in predictable ways.