Seropositivity to Helicobacter pylori and risk of pancreatic cancer

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Dec;22(12):2416-9. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0680. Epub 2013 Oct 2.

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) seropositivity has been inconsistently associated with pancreatic cancer. We, therefore, investigated the association between H. pylori seropositivity and pancreatic cancer in a case-control study nested within Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) cohort of Finnish male smokers. Pancreatic cancer cases (n = 353) and control subjects (n = 353) were matched on date of baseline serum collection, age at randomization, and follow-up time (up to 23.9 years). We used a multiplex serology assay to determine the sero-status of antibodies against 15 H. pylori-specific antigens in fasting serum samples. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Neither targeted H. pylori antigens in serum nor the combination of all was associated with development of pancreatic cancer (combination of all: OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.49-1.49). Our results suggest that H. pylori is not a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cohort Studies
  • Finland / epidemiology
  • Helicobacter Infections / epidemiology*
  • Helicobacter pylori / isolation & purification*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / microbiology*