Study: H. Pylori Bacteria Not a Risk Factor for Colorectal Cancer

Mayo Clinic researchers report that the helicobacter pylori bacteria, which is strongly linked to stomach ulcers, does not appear to be an important risk factor for colorectal cancer even though previous studies have shown it is more frequently present in colorectal cancer patients.

The researchers reported that they examined the association between patients with H. pylori seropositivity and colorectal cancer in a group of Finnish male smokers ranging in age from 50 to 60.

They said the number of patients who tested positive for H. Pylori was not statistically different between those who had developed colorectal cancer and those who were free of the disease.

"On the basis of these data, H. pylori carriage does not appear to be an important risk factor" for colorectal cancer, the researchers reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

Other Sources: Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention