Helicobacter pylori is one tough bug. It can survive in the human stomach, a zone with a pH somewhere between that of lemon juice and battery acid. Now researchers have discovered how an H. pylori toxin gets into cells, a feat that helps the bacterium live in one of the most inhospitable environments in the body.

A new study suggests that previous estimates of the risk of gastric cancer following infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori may be too low. The research identifies certain strains of the bacterium associated with precancerous gastric lesions.

New cases of stomach cancer are set to plummet a further 25 per cent in the West over the next decade, indicates research published ahead of print in the journal Gut.

Recent evidence suggests that therapy currently used to treat Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a major cause of upper gastrointestinal disorders, is unsuccessful in around 25 percent of cases.