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Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with excess risk for gastric cancer. But, whether eradication of the infection mitigates this risk is unclear (JW Gastroenterol Oct 30 2009 and JW Gastroenterol Oct 9 2009). To examine this issue further and to determine if the timing of eradication treatment affects cancer risk, investigators in Taiwan studied the rates of gastric cancer in patients with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) who received either prompt or delayed H. pylori eradication therapy.
The researchers used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database to collect data on 80,225 patients hospitalized for PUD between 1997 and 2004. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they received H. pylori eradication therapy “ear…