bjective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in relatives and patients with gastric cancer (GC). Methods: H. pylori infection was evaluated by the breath urease test in 171 relatives and by qPCR technique in gastric tissue of 61 patients (n=45 for GC and n=16 for non-GC). Results: There were included 137 relatives of GC patients and 34 of non-GC. The median age of the relatives of patients with a gastric tissue sample was 39 years (10-86). Infection was found in 60.2% (n=103) relatives. There were no higher H. pylori infection rates in relatives of patients with gastric cancer (62% vs 62.9%, p=0.33), H. pylori infection (60% vs 60%, p=0.96), or metaplasia (58.8% vs 61.8%, p=0.71). Conclusion: The prevalence of infection in relatives of GC patients is high in our population but not associated with H. pylori presence in...

Aim:Helicobacter pylori is usually detected based on hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) features, but, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) are more precise in chronic-gastritis. We evaluated the relevance of these tests in Peruvian gastric cancer samples. Materials & methods: We performed and evaluated H-E, IHC staining and RT-PCR in 288 gastric tumors. Slides were independently evaluated by three pathologists. Results:H. pylori was detected in 167/287 through H-E, 140/288 through IHC and 175/288 through RT-PCR, and positive-status were associated (p < 0.001). H. pylori detection by H-E had a good concordance with IHC (kappa index = 0.632) but poor with RT-PCR (kappa index = 0.317). Higher median gene-copies were found in high H. pylori density through H-E or IHC (p < 0.001). Conclusion: H-E evaluation is accurate in gastric cancer, and IHC and RT-PCR can complement its ...