Association between Helicobacter pylori and Colorectal Neoplasm

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Helicobacter pylori infection has been reported as a major factor of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, gastric lymphoma, and stomach cancer. In some uncontrolled studies, a high seroprevalence of H. pylori infection unexpectedly has been found in patients with colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients with colorectal neoplasm. METHODS: 93 colonic tissue samples were collected during the colonoscopic biopsy. The specimens included polyp, cancer, and normal colonic mucosa. The CLO testTM kit (Delta West Ltd., Bentley, Western Australia) was used for detection of H. pylori. The SAS program (USA) was used for the Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: H. pylori infection was detected 11 (11.8%) of total 93 specimens, 7 (25.7%) of 27 in cancers and 3 (6.9%) of 43 in polyps. Significantly higher H. pylori infection was detected in the colorectal cancers than non-cancer lesions (p=0.012) and polyps (p=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest a statistically significant association between H. pylori and colorectal neoplasm. The mechanism underlying this association needs to be investigated.