Marian Bátovský
Helicobacter pylori infection continues to play a key role in gastric diseases. This infection has been accepted as the major cause of type B gastritis, which is strongly associated with duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcers disease. It is now 14 years since Helicobacter pylori was cited as a gastric carcinogen. In the latest available epidemiological studies, the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection combined with CagA antibody status increases risk of gastric cancer 20-fold compared with controls. One estimation attributed 70 % of distal gastric cancers to Helicobacter pylori. A number of studies show considerable variations in risk for gastric cancer development depending on Helicobacter pylori strain type and the genetic predisposition of the host. As yet, the precise sequence of molecular events leading to gastric cancer has not been elucidated.