
Serological response to H. pylori proteins linked to risk of colorectal cancer - bookofjoe
https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(18)35088-1/pdf
======
apo
_H. pylori was first discovered in the stomachs of patients with gastritis and
ulcers in 1982 by Drs. Barry Marshall and Robin Warren of Perth, Western
Australia. At the time, the conventional thinking was that no bacterium could
live in the acid environment of the human stomach. In recognition of their
discovery, Marshall and Warren were awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine._

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori)

To test this controversial idea, Marshall self-administered the bacterium and
developed an ulcer:

 _Unable to make his case in studies with lab mice (because H. pylori affects
only primates) and prohibited from experimenting on people, Marshall grew
desperate. Finally he ran an experiment on the only human patient he could
ethically recruit: himself. He took some H. pylori from the gut of an ailing
patient, stirred it into a broth, and drank it. As the days passed, he
developed gastritis, the precursor to an ulcer: He started vomiting, his
breath began to stink, and he felt sick and exhausted. Back in the lab, he
biopsied his own gut, culturing H. pylori and proving unequivocally that
bacteria were the underlying cause of ulcers._

[http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-dr-drank-broth-
gave-...](http://discovermagazine.com/2010/mar/07-dr-drank-broth-gave-ulcer-
solved-medical-mystery)

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Ice_cream_suit
This is the kind of stuff that gives epidemiology research a bad name.

Somewhere between 1% and 22 % ( mean 11% ) increased risk of colorectal cancer
in selected subpopulations.

In contrast, 50 grams of processed meat a day increases the risk of colorectal
cancer by 18%.

Sounds like someone is desperate to get a publication, and managed to slip one
past gullible or equally desperate editors.

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yread
> sero-positivity was associated with an 11% increased odds of CRC (OR, 1.11;
> 95% CI, 1.01–1.22), and this association was particularly strong among
> African Americans (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.08–1.95)

These confidence intervals don't exactly instill confidence... Oh and we
cherry picked this subpopulation where the effect is all over the place with a
bigger mean.

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dbt00
You're getting downvotes, but that subpop figure is exactly the kind of thing
that gets headlines and is disproven the moment someone tries to reproduce it.
Why publish it?

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emptybits
I had no idea what Helicobacter pylori was. It's a bacteria that, apparently,
lives in the digestive tract of half the world's population.[1]

[1] [http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/reduce-
canc...](http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/reduce-cancer-
risk/make-informed-decisions/get-vaccinated/what-you-need-to-know-about-h-
pylori/?region=on)

~~~
0x8BADF00D
H. Pylori can also lead to stomach cancer, please get checked if you have acid
reflux, as it is treatable and goes away after a course of antibiotics.

~~~
drb91
Along with many healthy bacteria, no?

~~~
0x8BADF00D
Yes, IANAD, but most antiobiotics that treat H. Pylori will also kill gram
positive bacteria.

