Gastric Cancer Prevention through Eradication of Helicobacter pylori Infection: Feasibility and Pitfalls

A recent review and systematic analysis revealed that over two million new cancer cases were attributable to various infections in 2008.1 Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is expectedly the leading infection accounting for as many as 650,000 new cases annually of non-cardia gastric cancer worldwide.1 After the discovery of H. pylori by Warren and Marshall in 1982, accumulating evidence has unmasked a string of associations between the infection and gastric cancer.2 Now, the central role of H.pylori infection in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer, including both the intestinal and diffuse histological subtypes, is not to be ignored. Although gastric cancer is the outcome of a multi-factorial pathway, the crucial role of an infectious agent involved in its pathogenesis makes it potentially preventable through eradication therapy that utilizes effective antibiotics