ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori infection is a recognized cause of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer and gastric adenocarcinoma. However, both positive and negative associations with colorectal neoplasia have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine whether H. pylori infection is associated with an increased risk of colonic neoplasia in a Korean population. METHODS: We examined 1,590 subjects (1,297 men and 293 women) who underwent colonoscopy and serologic testing for IgG antibodies against H. pylori at the Health promotion Center in Kangbuk Samsung Hospital and at Samsung Medical Center. We compared the prevalence of colonic neoplasia in the seropositive subjects with that of the seronegative subjects. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of H. pylori in our study population was 56.2%. There were no significant differences of the baseline characteristics between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of colonic neoplasia between the seropositive group and the seronegative group (p=0.090). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that there is no significant association between H. pylori infection and colonic neoplasia.