Serological immunoglobulin G antibody titers to Helicobacter pylori in Japanese Brazilian and non-Japanese Brazilian gastric cancer patients and controls in Sao Paulo

• Published in: Japanese journal of cancer research (Gann) Vol. 92; no. 8; pp. 829 - 835
• Main Authors: FUJIOKA, Naoko, FAHEY, Michael Thomas, SHIGEAKI HAMADA, Gerson, NOBUKO NISHIMOTO, Inês, KOWALSKI, Luiz Paulo, IRIYA, Kiyoshi, GAMA RODRIGUES, Joaquim Jose, TAJIRI, Hisao, TSUGANE, Shoichiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Japanese Cancer Association 01-08-2001
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - ethnology; Adenocarcinoma - etiology; Adenocarcinoma - immunology; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies, Bacterial - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil - epidemiology; Case-Control Studies; Confidence Intervals; Female; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Helicobacter Infections - complications; Helicobacter Infections - ethnology; Helicobacter Infections - immunology; Helicobacter pylori - immunology; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Japan - ethnology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Risk Factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Stomach Neoplasms - ethnology; Stomach Neoplasms - etiology; Stomach Neoplasms - immunology; Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus; Tropical medicine; Tumors; South America; Brazil; America; Japan; Human; Stomach; Immunoglobulins; Spirillales; Antibody; Mongoloid; Spirillaceae; IgG; Serology; Malignant tumor; Epidemiology; Japanese; Ethnic group; Infection; Helicobacter pylori; Race; Bacteriosis; Digestive diseases; Bacteria; Public health; Gastric disease
• ISSN: 0910-5050
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2001.tb01168.x

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is considered a cause of gastric cancer (GC), though evidence for this association is scarce in high-risk areas. Possible case control and/or ethnic differences were investigated as to the presence of H. pylori and its immunogloblin G antibody titer in the multi-ethnic city of São Paulo, where the incidence of GC is relatively high. We performed a cross-sectional comparison of antibody titers to H. pylori in Japanese Brazilian, and non-Japanese Brazilian GC patients and their controls. Japanese Brazilian patients were matched by age, sex and ethnicity with two controls, while non-Japanese Brazilian patients were matched as above with one control. Among Japanese Brazilians, 59 of 93 (63.4%) patients with GC and 127 of 186 (68.3%) controls were positive for H. pylori-specific antibody (odds ratio (OR) = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.47 - 1.36), while among non-Japanese Brazilians, 171 of 228 patients with GC (75.7%) and 178 of 226 controls (78.8%) were positive (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.54 - 1.30). The median serum antibody titer was lower in cases than in controls in both ethnic groups. A high titer (H. pylori titer > or = 50) was associated with less likelihood of GC for both ethnic groups (for Japanese Brazilians, OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.16 - 0.92; for non-Japanese Brazilians, OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.31 - 1.02). The high titer can be regarded as a sign of the necessity of eradication, and low titer is regarded as a sign of the necessity of close screening for GC in both ethnic groups, because extended atrophy may cause spontaneous disappearance of H. pylori from the stomach.