Helicobacter pylori infection causes gastric cancer? A review of the epidemiological, meta-analytic, and experimental evidence.

Since the discovery of Campylobacter-like organisms Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) more than two decades ago the possibility of a relationship with gastric cancer has been postulated, tested and supposedly proven. There have been numerous human studies of various designs from many countries around the world. Several meta-analyses have been published and more recently a small number of experimental animal studies were reported looking at the association between H pylori infection and gastric cancer. Over the years, the human epidemiological studies have produced conflicting results; the meta-analyses have as one would expect produced similar pooled estimates; while the early experimental animal studies require replication. The exact mechanisms by which H pylori might cause gastric cancer are still under investigation and remain to be elucidated.