Helicobacter pylori heat shock protein 60 antibodies are associated with gastric cancer.

Helicobacter pylori infection causes atrophic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. The host immune response plays an important role in the pathogenesis of H. pylori-related diseases. Heat shock proteins are antigens involved in various diseases. This study evaluated seropositivity for antibodies to H. pylori heat shock protein 60 in patients with gastric cancer. Serum samples were obtained from 57 patients with gastric cancer (25 patients with diffuse-type gastric cancer and 32 with intestinal-type gastric cancer), 45 H. pylori-positive patients, and 49 H. pylori-negative patients without gastric cancer. Antibodies to heat shock protein 60 and H. pylori were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The positivity rate for antibodies to hsp60 was significantly higher in H. pylori-positive patients than in H. pylori-negative patients (73.3% vs. 24.5%, p<0.001). In addition, the positivity rate for antibodies to hsp60 was higher in patients with gastric cancer than in H. pylori-positive patients without gastric cancer (87.7% vs. 73.3%, p=0.06), and the positivity rate for antibodies to hsp60 was significantly higher in patients with diffuse-type gastric cancer than in H. pylori-positive patients without gastric cancer (96% vs. 73.3%, p<0.05). H. pylori hsp60 might be associated with gastric carcinogenesis, especially in the case of diffuse cancer.