HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION IN EARLY AND ADVANCED GASTRIC ADENOCARCINOMA - A SEROPREVALENCE STUDY IN 243 TAIWANESE PATIENTS

The association between gastric adenocarcinoma and Helicobacter pylori infection remains controversial. A seroprevalence study of Helicobacter pylori infection in 143 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and a control group of 823 subjects randomly selected from four areas in Taiwan, was carried out to elucidate the association. The overall seropositivity of Helicobacter pylori in gastric adenocarcinoma patients (62.9 %) was higher than in controls (54.4 %), but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The seropositivity of early gastric adenocarcinoma (61.5 %) was not significantly different from that of advanced gastric adenocarcinoma (63.2 %). Various demographic factors such as sex, blood type, cigarette smoking, tumor histology and location were not associated with the seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori. The age-specific seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori tended to be higher in younger patients and decreased after the age of 60 years in gastric adenocarcinoma, in contrast to a stepwise. increase of seropositivity in controls. This suggests that Helicobacter pylori infection in early life may be a contributory factor in gastric carcinogenesis.