Individuals and Family-Screen-to-Treat-Based Helicobacter pylori Eradication Strategy for Gastric Cancer Prevention: A Latin American Perspective.

José Darío Portillo-Miño, Javier Uribe, Gonzalo Latorre, Mauricio Pizarro, Margarita Pizarro, Nilton Palacios, Natalia Díaz-Garrido, Camila Jure, Diego Reyes-Placencia, William Otero, Sandra Cifuentes, Oscar Laudanno, José M Remes-Troche, Alejandro Piscoya, Arnoldo Riquelme

Journal: Helicobacter 2026;31(2):e70110

PMID: 42010149

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Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is a public health concern due to estimates indicating it ranks among the most prevalent cancers and leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally. In Latin America, a region significantly impacted by high mortality and incidence of GC, chronic H. pylori infection remains the primary cause of GC, with an overall prevalence of around 42.5% from 2015 to 2022. Asian countries have developed innovative strategies for primary and secondary prevention. Among the most notable primary and secondary screening programs were endoscopy-based screening in Japan and South Korea; a nationwide population-based H. pylori eradication program in Bhutan; mass H. pylori eradication in the Matsu Islands of Taiwan; and a recently developed family-based H. pylori eradication strategy in China. In this Opinion Review, we discuss the opportunities and pitfalls of implementing an individual-and family-screening-based H. pylori eradication strategy for GC prevention in Latin American intermediate- and high-risk areas.

Address: Epidemiology Master Program, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cali, Colombia.; Grupo de Investigación en Ciencia y Salud (GICIENSA), School of Medicine, Universidad de Nariño, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia.; Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.; Instituto de Medicina, Red de Salud UC Christus, Santiago, Chile.; Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.; Dirección del Hospital de Molina, Talca, Maule, Chile.; Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile.; Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.; Gastroenterology and Digestive Unit, Fundación Hospital San Pedro, Pasto, Nariño, Colombia.; Department of Gastroenterology, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas Alfredo Lanari, and School of Medicine, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.; Laboratorio de Fisiología Digestiva y Motilidad Gastrointestinal, Instituto de Investigaciones Médico-Biológicas, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, México.; Universidad Tecnológica del Perú (UTP), Lima, Perú.; Organización Panamericana de Gastroenterología (OPGE), Lima, Perú.; Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.; Instituto de Medicina, Red de Salud UC Christus, Santiago, Chile.; Centro para la Prevención y el Control del Cáncer (CECAN), Santiago, Chile.

DOI: 10.1111/hel.70110

MeSH Terms: Humans, Helicobacter Infections, Stomach Neoplasms, Latin America, Helicobacter pylori, Mass Screening, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Disease Eradication