Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Colorectal Cancer-a Cross-sectional Study

There are recent reports on the role of Helicobacter pylori in the promotion of tumor growth in extra-gastric organs, of which its role in colorectal neoplasm is gaining interest. We carried out a prospective cross-sectional prevalence study to evaluate the association of Helicobacter pylori and colorectal malignancy. It is a single-center cross-sectional prevalence study. The study group (n = 47) included all consecutive patients of age >= 18 years with colorectal malignancy. The control group (n = 43) included age- and gender-matched participants. Both groups were investigated for serum CagA antibodies and stool antigen for Helicobacter pylori and results were analyzed with different tumor parameters. The overall prevalence of Helicobacter pylori was 66% in the study and 53.5% in the control group. The CagA seroprevalence was 38.3% in the study and 21% in the control group, with no significant difference. A significant correlation was noted between differentiation of tumor and CagA seropositivity among Helicobacter pylori-infected patients. The remaining parameters did not show any association with either H. pylori or CagA strain. This study showed no association between Helicobacter pylori infection and colorectal cancers. However, a correlation between CagA strains with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma in Helicobacter pylori-infected patients was noted. Clinical Trial Registration Number: CTRI/2018/01/011607.

Automated summary

This study found no direct association between Helicobacter pylori infection and colorectal cancer, but noted a correlation between CagA strains and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma in Helicobacter pylori-infected patients.