Association between <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection and tumor markers: an observational retrospective study.

Abstract

<i>Helicobacter pylori</i> infection is a major cause of several cancers such as gastric, pancreatic and lung. The relationship between <i>H. pylori</i> and tumour markers continues to remain unclear. The primary goal of this study is to clarify the associations between <i>H. pylori</i> infection and six tumour markers (ie, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen (CA) 153, CA199, CA724, CA125 and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)). The secondary goal is to provide understanding for further research about <i>H. pylori</i> infection and gastrointestinal cancer. Observational retrospective study. The study was performed in Beijing, China, where enrolled subjects had all passed health examinations during the period of 2012-2016. Subjects were categorised into <i>H. pylori</i> (+) and <i>H. pylori</i> (-) group according to their infection status and the measured six biomarkers. We used logistic regression models and generalised linear models to explore the associations between <i>H. pylori</i> infection and six tumour markers (ie, CEA, CA153, CA199, CA724, CA125 and AFP). A total of 14 689 subjects were included and 6493 (44.2%) subjects were infected by <i>H. pylori</i>. The subjects had a mean age (1SD) of 45 (18) years. There were 4530 (31.0%) female subjects. After adjusting for the confounding factors, infections with <i>H. pylori</i> were found to be significantly associated with abnormal ratios in CEA, AFP and CA724 of <i>H. pylori</i> (+) to <i>H. pylori</i> (-) groups. Significant positive correlation was found between <i>H. pylori</i> infection and CEA values (adjusted β<b>=</b>0.056; 95% CI 0.005 to 0.107; p=0.033). In this observational retrospective study, we observed the <i>H. pylori</i> infections in a Chinese population and found higher CEA level in <i>H. pylori</i>-infected subjects and abnormal ratios in CEA, AFP and CA724 in infected subjects to uninfected subjects. These findings may provide a basis for future exploration with <i>H. pylori</i> and tumour markers.