Although it has been demonstrated that Helicobacter pylori causes gastric cancer, it is still controversial that whether H. pylori eradication therapy is effective in primary prevention of gastric cancer. This is especially important for Yamagata Prefecture, a region of Japan with the second highest incidence of gastric cancer in the world.

The stomach ulcer bacterium Helicobacter pylori is not transmitted through drinking water as previously thought, but rather through vomit and possibly faeces. This is shown in a thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy. It is therefore possible to prevent the spread of the bacterium in developing countries through some fairly simple measures.

Three-day-old broccoli sprouts, a widely available human food, suppressed Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections, according to a report in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. H. pylori infections are one of the most common bacterial infections worldwide and are a major cause of stomach cancer.

“Dragon’s blood” may sound like an exotic ingredient in a witch’s brew or magic potion. But researchers in China are reporting that the material — which is actually a bright red plant sap used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine — contains chemicals that were effective in laboratory experiments in fighting bacteria that cause millions of cases of gastrointestinal disease each year.

The formation of a cancer is proven to be a multi-stage, multi-mechanism process by animal and human studies. As a definite carcinogen, the role of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) in the formation of gastric cancer has been unclear.

Microbes and humans interact in myriad ways, sharing a long history. Many of the most successful microbes are those that inhabit but do not kill their host. Cheaters lose. Tuberculosis settles into the lungs.

Helicobacter pylori has been extensively studied and proven to be the main cause of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer in the HIV-negative population. Patients with chronic active gastritis have evidence of H pylori infection in over 90% of cases and in 70-100% of those with peptic ulcer disease.

New immunization methods offer long-term protection against H. pylori in humans and may contribute to a possible ulcer vaccine in the future say researchers from the University of California, Davis. They report their findings in the July 2007 journal Infection and Immunity.