Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infects more than half of the world’s human
population, but only 1 to 3% of infected persons develop gastric adenocarcinoma. H.
pylori is a definite or class I carcinogen in humans. The mechanisms of H. pyloriassociated
gastric carcinogenesis are still poorly defined. The clinical outcome of the
infection is determined by host genetic predisposition (IL-1β, TNFα, IL-10), bacterial
virulence factors (VacA, CagA), as well as environmental factors (salt intake, smoking).
Eliminating H. pylori from a large part of the population may be unfeasible
economically, and the long-term consequences are still unpredictable; this is why
identifying high-risk individuals is very important.
Keywords: Adhesins, gastric cancer, Helicobacter pylori, helminths infection,
interleukins, outer membrane proteins, peptidoglycans, polymorphisms, salt
intake, smoking, tumor necrosis factor-ά, virulence factors.
