Helicobacter pylori Treatment for Gastric Cancer Prevention

Gastric cancer has become a potentially preventable disease through eradication of Helicobacter pylori. However, issues that are associated with “screen and treat” strategies — their effectiveness, proper selection of populations to target, and cost–benefit considerations — continue to interfere with the application of such strategies in regular practice. A major uncertainty relates to the most effective timing for the implementation of a screen-and-treat program. One factor influencing this uncertainty is whether H. pylori eradication is effective at stopping the carcinogenic process in patients with severe chronic atrophic gastritis, an advanced precursor lesion to gastric cancer.1 In this issue of the . . .