Pesquisadores do Duke University Cancer Institute descobriram que H. pylori pode levar a um risco aumentado de câncer colorretal, especialmente para pessoas de cor. Pessoas de cor são mais propensas a serem diagnosticadas e morrer de câncer colorretal.
The researchers further explored the link between H. pylori and câncer colorretal. More than half of the world’s population is infected with Helicobacter pylori, bacteria can cause gastric cancer and gastric ulcers. Researchers at Duke University collected samples from subjects of different races and checked antibody levels before cancer developed. Half of the more than 8,000 study participants continue to develop colorectal cancer. To determine whether the presence of antibodies increased the likelihood of developing colorectal cancer, the researchers compared the frequency of antibodies between cancer and non-cancer subjects. They observed similar rates of past infections in the two groups. As a result, a higher percentage of black and Latino subjects had H. pylori antibodies. This finding is consistent in both cancer and non-cancer tissues. Antibodies specific for Helicobacter pylori proteins are most commonly found in different ethnic groups. Most importantly, a high-level antibody to the H. pylori protein-VacA protein is closely related to the incidence of colorectal cancer in African-American and Asian Americans.
A associação entre H. pylori e câncer colorretal desempenha um papel em pessoas de cor e pode afetar significativamente as opções de tratamento, planos de ação e diferenças de saúde pública relacionadas ao câncer. Os profissionais médicos podem identificar pessoas de alto risco com câncer colorretal com base no status de Helicobacter pylori e reduzir a incidência de câncer por meio do tratamento.
