Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 14, 2024; 30(38): 4168-4174
Published online Oct 14, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i38.4168
Is Helicobacter pylori infection protective against esophageal cancer?
Rick Maity, Arkadeep Dhali, Jyotirmoy Biswas
Rick Maity, General Medicine, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata 700020, India
Arkadeep Dhali, Department of Gastroenterology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield S10 2JF, United Kingdom
Arkadeep Dhali, School of Medicine and Population Health, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, United Kingdom
Arkadeep Dhali, Deanery of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, United Kingdom
Jyotirmoy Biswas, Department of General Medicine, College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital, Kolkata 700058, India
Co-first authors: Rick Maity and Arkadeep Dhali.
Author contributions: Maity R conducted literature review and wrote the primary manuscript; Dhali A conceptualized the article; Biswas J conducted literature review and wrote the primary manuscript; All authors agreed with the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Arkadeep Dhali, MBBS, MPH, PGCert Clin Ed, FRSPH, NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, Department of Gastroenterology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF, United Kingdom. arkadipdhali@gmail.com
Received: August 1, 2024
Revised: September 10, 2024
Accepted: September 14, 2024
Published online: October 14, 2024
Processing time: 58 Days and 16.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, while being a risk factor for gastric cancer, may afford protection against esophageal cancer (EC). The two major subtypes of EC, i.e., esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), have different etiologies and risk factors. Recent studies have unequivocally established the inverse association between H. pylori infection and EAC, however there was no significant association with ESCC. H. pylori infection may protect against EAC by inducing atrophic gastritis, altering serum ghrelin levels, and triggering cancer cell apoptosis. Contrary to prevailing concerns, H. pylori eradication does not increase the risk of EC.