ASPO Abstracts
Association of Helicobacter pylori and autoimmune gastritis with stomach cancer in a cohort of young Finnish women
Category: Molecular Epidemiology & Environment
Conference Year: 2022
Abstract Body:
Background and aims: An alarming trend of increasing incidence of early-onset stomach cancer (diagnosed <50 years of age) has been observed worldwide, with the underlying etiology largely unknown. Established risk factors for the development of traditional-onset stomach cancer (diagnosed ‚â•50 years) are Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and autoimmune gastritis (AIG). In this study, we assessed the association of these factors with early- and traditional-onset stomach cancers in a case-control study nested within the prospective Finnish Maternity Cohort (FMC).Methods: We used multiplex serology to determine sero-positivity to H. pylori and AIG in pre-diagnostic sera of 507 stomach cancer cases (297 early-onset and 210 traditional-onset) and 977 age-matched controls. We applied conditional logistic regression models to assess the association of sero-positivity to H. pylori and AIG with early- and traditional-onset stomach cancers, overall and by case characteristics. Results: Early- and traditional-onset stomach cancer were statistically significantly associated with sero-positivity to H. pylori (OR: 7.00, 95% CI: 4.93, 9.94 and OR: 7.12; 95% CI: 4.60, 11.01, respectively) and AIG (OR: 3.09; 95% CI: 1.58, 6.02 and OR: 11.66; 95% CI: 4.53, 30.05, respectively). The main histological subtypes associated with H. pylori sero-positivity were adenocarcinomas, whereas the association with AIG was mainly driven by carcinoid tumors. Conclusion: Sero-positivity to H. pylori and AIG were associated with higher odds of both early-onset and traditional-onset stomach cancer in this prospective study of fertile-aged Finnish women. This suggests future research should focus on potential co-factors to H. pylori and AIG that might contribute to the observed increase in incidence of early-onset stomach cancers.
Keywords: Stomach cancer; Early-onset stomach cancer; Helicobacter pylori; Autoimmune gastritis; Serology