Genetic variants increase risk for H. pylori-related stomach cancer

Individuals with certain germline pathogenic variants had a substantially higher risk for developing gastric cancer after Helicobacter pylori infection, results of a Japan-based case-control study showed.The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest risk for gastric cancer is more heavily related to hereditary factors than previously thought, the investigators noted.Four of the nine cancer-predisposing genes identified by the researchers are involved in the process of repairing damaged DNA, according to Yoshiaki Usui, MD, PhD, of RIKEN Center for Integrative MedicalRead More