Gastric cancer: bacteria infiltrating “through the wall of the stomach” could indicate a risk

In France, around 6,500 new stomach cancer diagnoses were reported in 2018, according to the Foundation for cancer researchRwhich estimates that this disease leads to nearly 4,300 deaths per year. Although the 5 -year survival rate increased from 25 % in 1990 to 31 % in 2015, The effectiveness of treatments is variable, depending on the patients and the progress of the pathology. “”Cancer tends to spread quickly to other sites, and most people have cancer at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, Indicates the MSD manual. The prognosis is only favorable if the tumor does not penetrate too deep into the thickness of the gastric wall. In this case, up to 80 % of patients can survive for 5 years”.

Stomach cancer: the bacteria Helicobacter pylori is known to be a risk factor

But a new study, published in the journal Helicobactermay allow this cancer to be diagnosed earlier and develop new treatments. In this work, researchers The University of Birmingham (England), discovered that at the precancerous stage, a gastric bacteria called non-h. pylori Infiltrate the wall of the stomach.

“Lhe stomach cancer is associated with several risk factors, including infection with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria causing chronic inflammation of the stomach (chronic gastritis)”, Underlines the Gustave Roussy cancer center. In France, 20 to 25 % of adults would be infected by the bacteria Helicobacter PylorI, according to the Foundation for cancer research. But there are only a small proportion of them, around 1 %, in whom the bacteria will lead to a tumor. If it is detected early, Helicobacter pylori can be treated by antibiotics.

The gastric bacteria non-h. pylori infiltrates through the wall of the stomach

The researchers wanted to understand if microbiota elements could promote the risk of stomach cancer in connection with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Thanks to their work, they observed, during the precancerous stage, an interaction between the bacteria Helicobacter pylori and the bacteria non-h. pylori, which would promote the development of the disease. More specifically, the bacteria Helicobacter pylori Concentrates in the gastric glands of the wall of the stomach, while not H. pylori infiltrates through the wall of the stomach.

“”This research shows us that the type of bacteria most frequently associated with stomach cancer, Helicobacter pylori, can act in association with other bacteria to cause a state [précancéreux],, indicates Talisia Quallo, manager of the research program at Research UK cancercancer research center, in a press release. It will be necessary to conduct further research to understand how this interaction works and what could be done to stop it, but thanks to this study, we can explore new ways of detecting people who will develop stomach cancer”.