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Article: Ulcer bacteria cause stomach cancer.
- Article from:
- Medical Update
- Article date:
- June 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In prior issues of Medical Update we discussed the pioneering work of Dr. Barry Marshall in defining the role of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori in peptic ulcer disease. Because of this major breakthrough in our understanding of what causes this widespread disease, a two-week course of antibiotics can now permanently cure the vast majority of cases. Now, the ongoing research of Dr. Marshall and others indicates that the ulcer bug also appears to be a major risk factor in stomach cancer, and the World Health Organization has declared H. pylori to be a class I carcinogen.
Until early in this century, stomach cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths in the ...