© 2005 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Association of Clinical Pathologists
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
CagA in Barretts oesophagus in Colombia, a country with a high prevalence of gastric cancer
1 Michael E DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
2 Hokkaido University, Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Haematology Section, Kita 15 jo, Nishi 7 Chome, Kita-Ku, Sapporo Hokkaido, 060-8638, Japan
3 National University, Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology Unit, Bogotá, Colombia
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr H M T El-Zimaity
Rm 3A-320 (111D), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, Texas 77030, USA; hzimaity{at}bcm.tmc.edu
Background: In the USA, atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer are rare, whereas gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common. Infection with Helicobacter pylori, especially a CagA positive strain, is unusual in patients with GERD/Barretts oesophagus in the USA.
Aim: To examine the relation between Barretts oesophagus and CagA positive H pylori in Colombia, a country with a high prevalence of CagA positive H pylori associated atrophic gastritis and gastric cancer.
Methods: Helicobacter pylori and CagA status was determined among Colombian patients with long segment Barretts oesophagus and a control group with simple H pylori gastritis. Helicobacter pylori status was determined using a triple stain and CagA status was determined by immunohistochemistry using a specific rabbit anti-CagA serum.
Results: Gastric and oesophageal mucosal biopsies were obtained from 51 patients39 men (mean age, 57.8 years; SD, 13.1) and 12 women (mean age, 51.8 years; SD, 14.4)with documented long segment Barretts oesophagus. The results were compared with 24 Colombian patients with H pylori gastritis without oesophageal disease. Thirty two patients with Barretts oesophagus had active H pylori infection. CagA status was evaluated in a subset of 23 H pylori infected patients with Barretts oesophagus, and was positive in eight of these patients compared with 19 of 24 controls (p = 0.01).
Conclusions: Although most Colombian patients with Barretts oesophagus had H pylori infection, CagA positive infections were unusual. These data illustrate how consistent corpus inflammation reduces acid secretion, which prevents Barretts oesophagus among those with abnormal gastro-oesophageal reflux barriers.
Abbreviations: GERD, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
Keywords: CagA; Barretts oesophagus; Helicobacter pylori; Colombia; gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; oesophageal adenocarcinoma
![]()
CiteULike
Complore
Connotea
Del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Anderson, L A, Murphy, S J, Johnston, B T, Watson, R G P, Ferguson, H R, Bamford, K B, Ghazy, A, McCarron, P, McGuigan, J, Reynolds, J V, Comber, H, Murray, L J
(2008). Relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric atrophy and the stages of the oesophageal inflammation, metaplasia, adenocarcinoma sequence: results from the FINBAR case-control study. Gut
57: 734-739
[Abstract] [Full Text]
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
