title: Role of Helicobacter pylori infection among offspring or siblings of gastric cancer patients.
abstract: A positive family history is an increased risk factor for gastric cancer within family members, and one of the possible causes of this is the intrafamilial clustering of Helicobacter pylori infection. Our study examined the prevalence of H. pylori infection, serum antibodies to CagA and VacA and atrophic gastritis and/or intestinal metaplasia in the offspring or siblings of gastric cancer patients. A total of 726 subjects included 300 relatives of 300 separate gastric cancer patients and 426 controls. All subjects underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination with a rapid urease test. Blood samples were obtained to test for the presence of serum antibodies to the CagA and VacA proteins of H. pylori. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was higher in relatives of cancer patients (75.3%) than in controls (60.1%), and the adjusted odds ratio was 2.1 (95% CI 1.5-2.9). When either siblings or 2 or more family members were gastric cancer patients, the prevalence of H. pylori infection was much higher compared to the prevalence in controls. There was no specific relationship between CagA and VacA, and H. pylori infection. Atrophic gastritis and/or intestinal metaplasia were more frequently found in H. pylori-infected relatives of cancer patients (26.1%) than in H. pylori-infected controls (12.9%). These results strongly support a role for H. pylori infection in familial aggregation of gastric cancer. The prophylactic eradication of H. pylori infection in the offspring or siblings of gastric cancer patients may be clinically beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Woon
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yo-Seob
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Dong-Keun
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyo-Jong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun-Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jeong-Seop
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Seok-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Byung-Ho
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joung-Il
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Rin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003710:Demography; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005756:Gastritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008679:Metaplasia; D008875:Middle Aged; D009679:Nuclear Family; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*