Plasma Helicobacter pylori Antibody Titers and Helicobacter pylori Infection Positivity Rates in Patients with Gallbladder Cancer or Cholelithiasis: a Hospital-Based Case-Control Study

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

1 Division of Preventive Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.

2 Department of Surgical Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.

3 Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Hokuriku University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.

4 Faculty of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.

5 Faculty of Health Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.

Abstract

Objective: Gallbladder cancer is the commonest gastrointestinal cancer in northern Indian women. Some studies
have examined the association between Helicobacter pylori infection and gallbladder cancer risk, but findings have been
inconsistent. We aimed to examine the association between H. pylori infection and gallbladder cancer in Indian people.
Materials and Methods: We conducted a hospital-based case-control study including 100 gallbladder cancer patients
with gallstones who were 32 to 79 years old (cases; 72 women and 28 men), and 100 cholelithiasis patients aged 14 to
75 years (controls; 65 women and 35 men). All patients had a diagnosis of gallbladder cancer or cholelithiasis at the
Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow having a high gallbladder cancer incidence
in northern India, from May 2014 through July 2017. Plasma samples were collected from all patients before surgical
treatment. Plasma H. pylori antibody titer was measured by the latex agglutination method and an autoanalyzer. H.
pylori infection was defined as antibody titer ≥10 U/mL. Plasma antibody titers and H. pylori infection positivity rates
were compared between cases and controls. Results: Mean plasma antibody titers (standard deviation, range) were
11.1 U/mL (11.6, 0–78) in cases and 13.6 U/mL (23.0, 1–164) in controls. H. pylori infection positivity rates were
41% and 42% in cases and controls, respectively. No significant differences in antibody titers or H. pylori infection
positivity rates were found between cases and controls. Conclusions: We found no evidence of H. pylori infection as
an important risk factor for gallbladder cancer in Indian people.

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