Abstract

Background and aims: The role of Helicobacter pylori and atrophic gastritis in the pathogenesis of gastric lesions in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) has not been clarified.

Patients: Thirty one patients with FAP.

Methods: The presence of fundic gland polyposis (FGP) and gastric adenoma (GA) was determined by upper endoscopy with biopsies. The degree of gastric mucosal atrophy and H pylori status were determined by serological and histological findings. Germline mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene was determined by polymerase chain reaction based single strand conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing.

Results: Gastric lesions were detected in 23 patients (74%). FGP and GA were found in 52% and 39%, respectively. APC gene mutation was identified in 22 of 30 patients. Patients with FGP were less frequently infected with H pylori than those without FGP (13% v 67%). The former patients had a lower degree of atrophy than the latter. Patients with GA tended to be more frequently infected with H pylori and they had higher degrees of atrophy than those without GA. When subjects were subdivided by gastric lesions (FGP alone, FGP+GA, GA alone, and negative groups), the GA alone group had the lowest pepsinogen I/II ratio and the highest seropositivity for H pylori. GA was found more frequently in patients positive for the APC mutation whereas no such a trend was observed in FGP.

Conclusions: In FAP, H pylori associated atrophic gastritis contributes negatively to FGP. It seems to contribute positively to GA, especially in patients with truncating APC gene mutation.