Antibody Responses to Helicobacter pylori and Risk of Developing Colorectal Cancer in a European Cohort
Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: While Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the major cause of gastric cancer, it has also been suggested to be involved in colorectal cancer development. However, prospective studies addressing H. pylori and colorectal cancer are sparse and inconclusive. We assessed the association of antibody responses to H. pylori proteins with colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods: We applied H. pylori multiplex serology to measure antibody responses to 13 H. pylori proteins in prediagnostic serum samples from 485 colorectal cancer cases and 485 matched controls nested within the EPIC study. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable conditional logistic regression to estimate the association of H. pylori overall and protein-specific seropositivity with odds of developing colorectal cancer. Results: Fifty-one percent of colorectal cancer cases were H. pylori seropositive compared with 44% of controls, resulting in an OR of 1.36 (95% CI, 1.00–1.85). Among the 13 individual H. pylori proteins, the association was driven mostly by seropositivity to Helicobacter cysteine-rich protein C (HcpC; OR: 1.66; 95% CI, 1.19–2.30) and Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) (OR: 1.34; 95% CI, 0.99–1.82), the latter being nonstatistically significant only in the fully adjusted model. Conclusions: In this prospective multicenter European study, antibody responses to H. pylori proteins, specifically HcpC and VacA, were associated with an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. Impact: Biological mechanisms for a potential causal role of H. pylori in colorectal carcinogenesis need to be elucidated, and subsequently whether H. pylori eradication may decrease colorectal cancer incidence.
Authors: Julia Butt, Mazda Jenab, Michael Pawlita, Anne Tjønneland, Cecilie Kyrø, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Franck Carbonnel, Catherine Dong, Rudolf Kaaks, Tilman Kühn, Heiner Boeing, Matthias B. Schulze, Antonia Trichopoulou, Anna Karakatsani, Carlo La Vecchia, Domenico Palli, Claudia Agnoli, Rosario Tumino, Carlotta Sacerdote, Salvatore Panico, Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Roel Vermeulen, Inger T. Gram, Elisabete Weiderpass, Kristin Benjaminsen Borch, Jose Ramón Quirós, Antonio Agudo, Miguel Rodríguez-Barranco, Carmen Santiuste, Eva Ardanaz, Bethany Van Guelpen, Sophia Harlid, Liher Imaz, Aurora Perez-Cornago, Marc J. Gunter, Semi Zouiouich, Jin Young Park, Elio Riboli, Amanda J. Cross, Alicia K. Heath, Tim Waterboer, David J. Hughes
Institutions: German Cancer Research Center, Centre international de recherche sur le cancer, Danish Cancer Society, Université Paris-Sud, Inserm, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Université Paris-Saclay, Institut Gustave Roussy, Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Bicêtre Hospital, German Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Potsdam, Hellenic Health Foundation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University General Hospital Attikon, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Piedmont Reference Center for Epidemiology and Cancer Prevention, Federico II University Hospital, University of Naples Federico II, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Malaya, Imperial College London, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Universidad de Granada, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Andalusian School of Public Health, Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, Instituto de Salud Pública de Navarra, Navarre Institute of Health Research, Umeå University, Basque Government, Biogipuzkoa Health Research Institute, University of Oxford, University College Dublin
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: World Health Organization, Kræftens Bekæmpelse, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer, Health Research Board, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health and Care Research, European Commission, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Cancerfonden, Ligue Contre le Cancer, Deutsche Krebshilfe, Associazione Iblea per la Ricerca Epidemiologica, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale, Hellenic Health Foundation, Medical Research Council, World Cancer Research Fund, Health and Medical Research Fund
OpenAlex ID: W3018249681