For patients with gastric adenoma, the risk of developing stomach cancer is reduced by eliminating Helicobacter pylori after endoscopic resection.

A study showed that the subsequent incidence of gastric cancer in patients who received ‘Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment’ after endoscopic resection of gastric adenoma was about 12% lower than in patients who did not.

Professor Soo-jin Hong's team (Professors Shin-hee Kim and Hyewon Yoo) of the Digestive Disease Center at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital recently announced this. The results of this study were published in the February issue of ‘Gastroenterology’, the world’s most prestigious medical journal in the field of gastroenterology, with an impact factor of 29.4.

It has been well known that Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment after endoscopic resection of early gastric cancer is effective in preventing gastric cancer recurrence, but the preventive effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment after endoscopic resection of gastric adenoma, a precursor lesion of gastric cancer, has not been clearly revealed.

Accordingly, the research team conducted a nationwide cohort study targeting 69,722 adult patients who were diagnosed with gastric adenoma and underwent endoscopic resection from 2010 to 2018, based on data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

As a result, patients who received Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment after endoscopic resection of gastric adenoma had a 12% lower incidence of gastric cancer than patients who did not receive treatment. The effect increased over time, to about 16% after three years of treatment and about 20% after five years.

In addition, Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment was found to be effective in preventing not only gastric cancer but also the development of new gastric adenomas after the procedure.

This is the first time in the world that large-scale data analysis has revealed that Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment after endoscopic resection of gastric adenoma is effective in preventing stomach cancer.

Professor Hyewon Yoo, the first author of this paper, said, “Endoscopic treatment is recommended for gastric adenomas, but the incidence of gastric cancer in the gastric mucosa after endoscopic resection reaches 9.3%, so patients with a history of gastric adenoma resection are at high risk of developing gastric cancer. “Helicobacter pylori is known to be the strongest risk factor for gastric cancer, but we conducted this study based on the fact that the effect of preventing gastric cancer in patients who received Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment after endoscopic resection of gastric adenoma has not yet been revealed.”

Professor Hong Soo-jin, the head of the study, said, “It is very encouraging that the results of this study on a large number of patients were published in a journal with the highest authority in the field of gastroenterology.” He added, “This study will help establish appropriate treatment guidelines for gastric adenoma and gastric cancer.” “I hope this will happen, and we will continue to strive for treatment and research to prevent and treat stomach cancer.”