Association of Helicobacter pylori with colorectal cancer development

作者:Alsamak Fadi Fouad; Abdulamir Ahmed Sahib*; Mahdi Laila Khalid; Alnaib Khalid; Abu Bakar Fatimah
来源:Asian Biomedicine, 2010, 4(4): 609-618.

摘要

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) may be associated with colorectal cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear.
Objectives: Explore the serostatus of H. pylori cytotoxicity-associated gene A product (CagA) in patients with colorectal carcinoma, and assess the association of H. pylori with colorectal cancer via c-Myc and MUC-2 proteins at tumor tissues.
Methods: H. pylori CagA IgG antibodies were screened using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 30 patients with colorectal carcinoma and 30 cancer-free control subjects. Paraffin-embedded blocks were examined for the expression of c-Myc and MUC-2 protein by immunohistochemistry.
Results: H. pylori CagA seropositivity increased significantly among colorectal cancer patients (p <0.05). The expression of c-Myc and MUC-2 in colorectal carcinoma patients was over-expressed (80%), and down-expressed (63%) in resection margins (p <0.05). c-Myc over-expression and MUC-2 down-expression were associated with CagA-positive rather than CagA-negative H. pylori patients. In 16 CagA scropositive vs. 14 CagA seronegative patients, the expression rate was 97.3% vs. 64.2% and 33.3% vs. 78.5% for cMyc and MUC-2, respectively. CagA IgG level was significantly higher in positive than in negative c-Myc patients (p=0.036), and in negative than in positive MUC-2 patients (p=0.044). c-Myc and MUC-2 were positively and inversely correlated with CagA IgG level (p <0.05).
Conclusions: CagA-seropositive H. pylori is most probably associated with colorectal cancer development. Part of the underlying mechanism for such association might be via alterations in expression of MUC-2, which depletes the mucous protective layer in the cob-rectum, and c-Myc, which stimulates the growth of cancerous cells.

  • 出版日期2010-8