Stomach Cancer research
Two common causes of stomach cancer include infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria and diet, the type of diet that's high in salted, smoked and pickled foods common in areas that lack refrigeration as a means of preserving food.
Stomach cancer and family size -
H. pylori as a cause?
People from large families have an increased risk of
stomach cancer. A study that followed more than 7,000 Japanese-American men for
28 years found that family size had a major influence on the development of
stomach cancer linked to the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, and that younger
siblings from large families were especially prone to the most common form of
stomach cancer. H. pylori lives in the mucous layer of the stomach and is
associated with peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. It's estimated that half of
the world's population carries H. pylori in the stomach. It can be transmitted
orally from person to person or through contact with human feces. The study
found that men who carried certain strains of H. pylori in their stomachs and
had seven or more siblings had more than twice the risk of developing stomach
cancer, compared to men with the same H. pylori strains who had one to three
siblings.