Helicobacter pylori eradication prevents secondary gastric cancer in patients with mild-to-moderate atrophic gastritis.

Abstract

Whether Helicobacter pylori eradication prevents metachronous recurrence after endoscopic resection (ER) of early gastric cancer remains controversial. This multicenter retrospective study aimed to evaluate the long-term (>5years) effects of H.pylori eradication by stratifying patients' baseline degrees of atrophic gastritis. A total of 483 H.pylori-positive patients who had undergone ER for early gastric cancer were divided into two groups-(i) those having undergone successful H.pylori eradication within 1year after ER (eradicated group, n=294) and (ii) those with failed or not attempted H.pylori eradication (non-eradicated group, n=189). The cumulative incidences of metachronous gastric cancer between the two groups were compared for all patients, for patients with mild-to-moderate atrophic gastritis (n=182), and for patients with severe atrophic gastritis (n=301). During a median follow-up of 5.2years (range 1.1-14.8), metachronous cancer developed in 52 (17.7%) patients in the eradicated group and in 35 (18.5%) patients in the non-eradicated group (P=0.11, log-rank test). In patients with mild-to-moderate atrophic gastritis (111 and 71 in the eradicated and non-eradicated groups, respectively), the cumulative incidence of metachronous cancer was significantly lower in the eradicated group than that in the non-eradicated group (P=0.03, log-rank test). However, no significant intergroup difference was observed in patients with severe atrophic gastritis (P=0.69, log-rank test). Helicobacter pylori eradication had a preventive effect on the development of metachronous gastric cancer in patients with mild-to-moderate atrophic gastritis.