Helicobacter pylori and stomach cancer: a case-control study in Venezuela

The role of Helicobacter pylori infection in gastric cancer was evaluated in a high-risk population in Venezuela using serological assays in a study of 302 cases and 483 neighborhood controls. To investigate the claim that assays for H. pylori should use antigens derived from local strains, four different assays derived from Venezuelan and European strains were used. Prevalence of IgG H. pylori antibodies in controls was very high, with estimates between 72 and 92%. Prevalence was similar in cases and controls. However, cases had lower antibody titers. This effect was observed only in subjects with low pepsinogen (PG) levels PGI/PGII <3.0), which suggested that extensive atrophy in cases causes a loss of H. pylori infection, with a consequent reduction in antibody titer. In addition, advanced cases (stage II or higher) had lower antibody titers than less advanced cases, which indicated that the lower antibody titers in cases may be attributable partially to a diminished immune response. All of the four assays for anti-H. pylori antibodies gave similar results. No evidence was found for the superiority of the assay based on Venezuelan strains. These results are consistent with other case-control studies in high-risk populations and highlight the difficulties of investigating H. pylori infection in retrospective studies.