Helicobacter pylori and Gastrointestinal Malignancies

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori infection is the principal trigger of gastric carcinogenesis and gastric cancer (GC) and remains the third leading cause of cancer-related death in both sexes worldwide. In a big Japanese study, the risk of developing GC in patients with peptic ulcer disease who received H. pylori eradication therapy and annual endoscopic surveillance for a mean of 9.9 years was significantly lower after successful eradication therapy compared to the group with persistent infection (0.21%/year and 0.45%/year, respectively, p = .049). According to a recent meta-analysis, H. pylori eradication is insufficient in GC risk reduction in subjects with advanced precancerous conditions (i.e., intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia). A microsimulation model suggested screening smokers over the age of 50 in the U.S. for serum pepsinogens. This would allow to detect advanced gastric atrophy with endoscopic follow-up of subjects testing positive as a cost-effective strategy to reduce GC mortality. In a Taiwanese study, the anti-H. pylori IgG-based test-and-treat program had lower incremental cost-effectiveness ratios than that with (13)C-urea breath test in both sexes to prevent GC whereas expected years of life lost for GC were higher and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of test-and-treat programs were more cost-effective in young adults (30-69 years old) than in elders (>70 years old). With respect to gastrointestinal malignancies other than GC, a meta-analysis confirmed the inverse association between H. pylori infection and esophageal adenocarcinoma. In a Finnish study, H. pylori seropositivity was associated with an increased risk of biliary tract cancers (multivariate adjusted OR 2.63; 95% CI: 1.08-6.37), another meta-analysis showed a slightly increased rate of pancreatic cancer in patients with CagA-negative strains (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.02-1.65), whereas current data suggest that the association between H. pylori and colorectal neoplasms may be population dependent.

Keywords: colorectal cancer; gastric cancer; hepatobiliary malignancies; pancreatic cancer; prevention strategies; screening.