Helicobacter pylori and gastric carcinoma: serum antibody prevalence in populations with contrasting cancer risks

Article Abstract:

In many parts of the world where the rate of gastric cancer is low, the rate of gastrointestinal infection with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori is also low. (Helicobacter pylori was previously known as Campylobacter.) Conversely, in many, though not all, regions where the rate of Helicobacter infection is high, the rate of gastric cancer is also high. Furthermore, the rates of both Helicobacter infection and gastric cancer are higher among blacks than whites in the United States. It is therefore of some interest to evaluate the possibility that infection with Helicobacter infection may in some way be involved in the development of stomach cancer. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to test large numbers of patients for Helicobacter infection, since infections correlate well with specific serum antibodies, which may be rapidly detected immunologically. Researchers used this indicator to evaluate the prevalence of Helicobacter infection in Cali and Pasto, two cities in Colombia, and in New Orleans. The results showed that infection with Helicobacter pylori was more prevalent in Pasto than Cali; the rate of gastric cancer was also higher in Pasto. However, the comparison of patients at two hospitals in New Orleans revealed that the difference may largely be due to socioeconomic status. While Helicobacter infection was more common among blacks than whites in New Orleans, the comparison between patients of the same socioeconomic status within either of the two hospitals was roughly comparable, and showed little difference between races. Other epidemiologic studies have found that high rates of Helicobacter infection exist in Madagascar and the Ivory Coast, but these two regions have low rates of stomach cancer. Therefore, Helicobacter infection, per se, can not be said to cause cancer. The authors raise the possibility that the presence of infection may increase the likelihood of developing stomach cancer due to other causes, or that Helicobacter infection may interact with genetic features of the population. They do not discuss the possibility that the potential for Helicobacter infection in some populations may only reflect differences in eating habits and hygiene, differences which might also contribute directly to the risk of gastric cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Demographic aspects, Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter infections

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The effect of the gastrin receptor antagonist proglumide on survival in gastric carcinoma

Article Abstract:

Many tumors of different sorts express specific hormone receptors on the surface of their cells, and these cell surface receptors may become an important point of therapeutic intervention. Stomach cancer cells, like normal gastric (stomach) cells, express receptors for the hormone gastrin. Since research has shown that blocking the gastrin receptors in the laboratory can slow the growth of the cancer cells under experimental conditions, it seems reasonable to attempt to include an inhibitor of gastrin in the treatment of patients with stomach cancer. One such inhibitor of gastrin receptors is the drug proglumide. However, in a controlled study involving 110 patients with stomach cancer, it was found that proglumide had no detectable effect on survival. Proglumide is neither a particularly specific nor a particularly powerful inhibitor of the gastrin receptors, and it might be hoped that better results could be obtained when better receptor antagonists become available. At present, however, the prognosis of stomach cancer remains as it has been for the past 50 years: about 5 percent of patients are alive after five years. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Prognosis, Gastrin, Drug receptors

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