Helicobacter pylori infection following partial gastrectomy for gastric cancer

Gastric remnants are an inevitable consequence of partial gastrectomy following resection for gastric cancer. The presence of gastric stumps is itself a risk factor for redevelopment of gastric cancer. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is also a well-known characteristic of gastric carcinogenesis. H. pylori colonization in the remnant stomach therefore draws special interest from clinicians in terms of stomach cancer development and pathogenesis; however, the H. pylori-infected gastric remnant is quite different from the intact organ in several aspects and researchers have expressed conflicting opinions with respect to its role in pathogenesis. For instance, H. pylori infection of the gastric stump produced controversial results in several recent studies. The prevalence of H. pylori infection in the gastric stump has varied among recent reports. Gastritis developing in the remnant stomach presents with a unique pattern of inflammation that is different from the pattern seen in ordinary gastritis of the intact organ. Bile refluxate also has a significant influence on the colonization of the stomach stump, with several studies reporting mixed results as well. In contrast, the elimination of H. pylori from the gastric stump has shown a dramatic impact on eradication rate. H. pylori elimination is recognized to be important for cancer prevention and considerable agreement of opinion is seen among researchers. To overcome the current discrepancies in the literature regarding the role of H. pylori in the gastric stump, further research is required.