Although family history and Helicobacter pylori infection are the two main risk factors for gastric cancer, whether eradication of H. pylori benefits those with a family history of gastric cancer was unknown. In a single-centre study in South Korea, 1,676 first-degree relatives of patients with gastric cancer were randomly assigned to receive H. pylori eradication therapy or placebo. After a median follow-up of 9.2 years, gastric cancer developed in 10 individuals in the treatment group versus 23 in the placebo group (P = 0.03), suggesting that H. pylori eradication reduced the risk of gastric cancer in those with a familial risk.
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Choi, I. J. et al. Family history of gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori treatment. N. Engl. J. Med. 382, 427–436 (2020)
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Dickson, I. H. pylori elimination reduces gastric cancer risk. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 17, 194 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0276-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0276-x
