Helicobacter pylori and the Development of Gastric Cancer
“Helicobacter pylori infects more than half of the world’s population, and its CagA virulent strain induces 63% of the world’s gastric cancer cases. Although this gram-negative stomach pathogen is easily eradicated using antibiotics, antibiotic resistance is becoming more common and poses a significant concern for the future of all antibiotic-treated diseases. Due to this rise in antibiotic resistance, it is important to understand the mechanisms in which CagA-positive H. pylori induces gastric cancer in order to effectively prevent or treat Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric cancer that does not rely on the use of antibiotics. This mini review presents an overview of the mechanisms in which H. pylori causes gastric cancer. Although some of this research has led to half-hearted public funding for the development of a vaccine, integration of CagA-positive H. pylori with more recent groundbreaking studies such as Nelson et al.’s molecular labeling of Staphylococcus aureus (2010), or Mullis et al.’s targeting of Bacillus anthracis using a present condition of the body’s adaptive immune response (2013) may prove more successful in developing an effective gastric cancer treatment.”
-Colin Hayes
