Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon

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NCI, DCEG, NEB

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PLCO (Learn more about this study)

2007-0001

Jul 10, 2007

Helicobacter pylori seropositivity as a Risk Factor for Pancreatic Cancer

Exocrine pancreatic cancer is among the most fatal cancers worldwideand one for which few preventable risk factors have been established(e.g., smoking, diabetes mellitus and obesity). Descriptive epidemiology does indicate the likelihood of important determinants of risk that, when identified, should provide opportunities for prevention. We previously reported a significant 2-fold positive association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) carriage, particularly the cytotoxin-associated gene-A-positive (Cag A+) strain and pancreatic cancer in a nested case control study within the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study cohort(1). This proposed study in PLCO primarily aims to confirm or refute our previous study by determining whether prediagnostic H. pylori and CagA strain seropositivity are associated with pancreatic cancer. We hypothesize that H. pylori and CagA strain seropositivity will be positively associated with pancreatic cancer. We propose to conduct a nested case-control (200 cases and 400 matched controls) study within the PLCO Trial using the T0 serum samples. To our knowledge there have not been published studies confirming or refuting the ATBC findings to date. If our previous study is confirmed in PLCO, it may have important public health implications for the prevention of pancreatic cancer.