Cutting edge in the clinical management of H. pylori infection

Abstract

 Since Warren and Marshall's discovery of Helicobacter pylori, tremendous break-through has occurred in the natural history of gastroduodenal diseases. Nowadays, not only chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease, but also non-cardia gastric cancers have been recognized as diseases originating from H. pylori infection. In Japan, gastric cancer screening program by using barium X-ray photofluorography has been conducted for more than 40 years. However, we have to reconsider the efficacy and cost-performance of this classical screening system and to remodel by including the target strategy against H. pylori. Since 2013, the national insurance system in Japan approved the H. pylori eradication therapy for patients with H. pylori-infected gastritis, which covers most of the H. pylori-infected cohorts. To extinguish the gastric cancer from Japan in near future, new screening and treatment strategy would be required in this field.