H. Pylori for lymphoma – pro
H. pylori infection, one of the most common worldwide infections and an important factor linked to the development of peptic ulcer disease, gastric malignancy and dyspeptic symptoms occurs in an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of the U.S. population. Diagnosis of infection is usually made by checking for dyspeptic symptoms and then doing tests which can suggest H. pylori infection. One can test noninvasively for H. pylori infection with a blood antibody test, stool antigen test, or with the carbon urea breath test.
Nearly all patients with gastric MALT lymphoma are infected with H. pylori, and the risk of developing this tumor is over six times higher in infected people than in uninfected people. Furthermore, up to 80 percent of patients with gastric MALT lymphoma achieve complete remission of their tumors after treatment with H. pylori-eradicating antibiotic therapy.
There are no guidelines that recommend testing for H. Pylori as screening for lymphoma. H. Pylori testing is appropriate for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease or lymphoma but nto screening.
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European Helicobacter Pylori Study Group. Current Concepts in the Management of Helicobacter pylori Infection. The Maastricht 2-2000 Consensus Report. Retrieved on September 30, 2006.