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Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with an increased risk for gastric cancer. To determine whether eradication of H. pylori reduces that risk, investigators in Taiwan and the U.S. performed a meta-analysis of 24 studies involving 48,064 patients with varying rates of baseline gastric cancer.
Adjusting for baseline gastric cancer incidence showed that patients who received H. pylori eradication therapy had a lower subsequent risk for gastric cancer than those who did not receive therapy (pooled incidence ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.44–0.64). The impact of H. pylori eradication increased with patient age and baseline cancer incidence. In addition to reducing risk in asymptomatic patients, eradication reduced rates of subse…