Gastrin Levels Linked to Helicobacter-Induced Stomach Cancer

Researchers working with mouse models have found that the stomach hormone gastrin is critically linked to the form of stomach cancer that may results from infection by Helicobacter bacteria.

Stomach cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, has been strongly linked to Helicobacter infection. These bacteria, which cause chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, infect nearly half of the world's population and have been shown to cause the development of gastric ulcers and stomach cancer.

In the current study, investigators from Columbia University Medical Center (New York, NY, USA) examined the influence of the stomach hormone gastrin, which is elevated by Helicobacter infection, on the development of stomach cancer. They worked with several mouse lines including gastrin-deficient (GAS-KO) mice and C57BL/6 wild-type mice. The animals were infected with H. felis for either 12 or 18 months and then examined for the presence of stomach cancer.

Results published in the July 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology revealed that neither too little nor too much gastrin was a healthy situation. Elevated levels of gastrin initiated development of tumors in the gastric corpus (main body of the stomach), but absence of gastrin also induced tumors in the gastric antrum, the lower section of the stomach that empties into the small intestine.

The bimodal effect of gastrin may be linked to the hormone's role in protecting the stomach mucosa from damage caused by gastric acid secretion induced by gastrin itself. Thus, either too much or too little gastrin could predispose a person to stomach cancer.

"Clinicians in the future may need to be more careful about prescribing acid-suppressive drugs for long-term use in patients infected with Helicobacter,” said senior author Dr. Timothy Wang, professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center.

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