Helicobacter pylori Infection Drives the Gastric Precancerous Process

摘要

Since 1994, the World Health Organization has assigned the role of a Class I carcinogen to the Helicobacter pylori infection. (1) The infection is generally acquired in infancy or early childhood and persists for decades if not treated. A very small percentage of infected persons eventually develop gastric cancer, generally after 5 or more decades of exposure to the bacterium. That is the time in which the precancerous process evolves. The forces that drive the process are mostly unknown, but their dynamics needs to be understood in order to design effective prevention strategies.