Theme |
Inflammation of Gastric Mucosa |
Title |
Gastric Inflammation and Carcinogenesis |
Author |
Toshiro Sugiyama |
Third Department of Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
Author |
Masahiro Asaka |
Third Department of Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
[ Summary ] |
Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection is a major cause of chronic inflammation in the human stomach. This persisting inflammation is involved in the development of gastric carcinogenesis. H.pylori has been found to have a causal relationship with diffuse types of gastric cancer as well as intestinal type in epidemiological studies. Precise mechanisms are now under investigation, those mechanisms are, 1) epithelial injury, regeneration and accelerated cellular proliferation, 2) DNA injury from carcinogenic substances produced by the marked inflammatory cells in the mucosa, 3) inhibition of the production of anti-oxidants in the stomach and insufficient repair of damaged DNA, 4) high production of exogenic carcinogens due to hypochlorhydria, which are proposed as mechanisms associated with carcinogenesis. |