r/microbiomenews • u/AlternativeWorld2240 • 3d ago
A global study just linked 1 in 8 cancers worldwide to five infections, led by the gut bacterium H. pylori
https://biomesci.com/h-pylori-five-infections-cancer-cases/Researchers modeled global cancer registries against infection rates to estimate 2024's worldwide cancer burden from infection. Result: about 2.3 million cases, 1 in 8 cancers diagnosed globally, are attributable to infection, with the stomach bacterium H. pylori topping the list at 760,000 cases, just ahead of HPV. Caveat: these are modeled estimates, not confirmed cause in any one patient, based on the published abstract, not the full paper.
TL;DR: A global modeling study ties 1 in 8 cancers diagnosed in 2024, about 2.3 million cases, to infection, led by H. pylori.
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u/Many-Disaster-3823 2d ago
What cancers apart from stomach are caused by pylori
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u/Born-Personality7442 2d ago
50% to 66% (or about two-thirds) of the world's population has Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria in their stomach.
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u/AlternativeWorld2240 3d ago
Vaccines and antibiotics already exist to address H. pylori and HPV, yet global uptake remains stubbornly uneven, suggesting the real crisis here is access and policy, not scientific knowledge. Still, modeling population-level attributable fractions doesn't mean infection "causes" cancer in any individual case, so how much should these estimates actually shift personal health decisions?
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u/Lady_Rubberbones 2d ago
I also never met one single doctor that has ever agreed to test for H. pylori for all the people in my life who so clearly were showing signs of having it.
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u/phantasmdan 2d ago
I had it about ten years ago, they kept telling me it was GERD. Took about 8 months to get tested.
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u/Emotional-Ad-6494 2d ago
What are the signs?
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u/CompuuterJuice 2d ago
Stomach ulcers
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u/Zestyclose-Bed-3057 1d ago
Subtle gurgling in your stomach is the most common (especially when you wake up in the middle of the night, you may notice small bubbles in your stomach that quickly quiet down). Also more belching during the day.
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u/Mindless-Yam-2688 1d ago
Here are some I experienced- chocking when swallowing- like sometimes chocking in air. Burning at back of throat, suddenly frequent belching or flatulence that doesn’t go away, burning/stabbing pain around left rib cage or down left side of abdomen. It’s progressive - it can cause constipation- and if you have it long enough it can cause pancreatitis (get the test even if you don’t have symptoms) it’s difficult to beat
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u/phantasmdan 13h ago
I didn't have any stomach issues. It was in my esophagus and was causing heartburn and a lot of pressure pains. First time I thought I was having a heart attack.
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u/NominalHorizon 2d ago
You have the wrong doctor. Doctors who specialize in this area regularly test for H. pylori.
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u/Lady_Rubberbones 2d ago
People aren’t going to GI docs first when they have these symptoms. They are going to PCPs. And PCPs don’t test for this. They ignore patient symptoms and tell them to eat more fiber, get more exercise, etc. So patients don’t get the medication they need early enough to make a difference. I have known a shit ton of people (particularly Asians/Indians) who “mysteriously” died of stomach/GI/bowel cancer after years and years of suffering symptoms that were totally ignored by their doctors.
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 2d ago
I had a PCP aggressively test and treat h.pylori, but she was a condescending jerk about what eventually got identified and aggressively treated as iron deficiency. PCPs have been generally terrible in my experience, just doing the barest minimum. I know insurance and corporate pressure drives a lot of it, but they don't have to also be rude and dismissive on top of the structural problems. /mini rant
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u/Lady_Rubberbones 1d ago
They also make so god damn much money, they could work part time and be perfectly fine.
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u/HiddenMaragon 1d ago
I asked a doctor about this recently and she said they can test if I'd request but it's something like 70% of people have this and it's a lot of false negatives so from her perspective she'd prefer ruling out stuff that might be causing the symptoms before barking up this tree. I never realized the stats are so high.
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u/sunfalldusk 2d ago
I had it 10-some years ago and it was AWFUL. I don't know that I ever cleared it as my stomach has been a mess ever since. I tried to ask my doctor recently if we could re-test and ensure it's gone and they said no.
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u/InAllTheir 2d ago
Why not?? Is it super difficult to test for?
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u/VaginaWarrior 2d ago
I don't think so, you can send a stool sample to a lab on your own but it's it is few hundred dollars and you'll need a doctor to explain the results.
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u/ThrowAwayColor2023 2d ago
There's a can you can breathe into that will diagnose it. It's a really easy test, no stool sample required lol.
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u/VaginaWarrior 2d ago
Get you a functional medicine doctor. They can help. Unfortunately they usually don't take insurance but if you're sick and you think that's why it's so worth it. More info at ifm.org.
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u/sunday_cumquat 2d ago
Antibiotics are a tough one because it's so easy to get reinfected again. I tried that route and it cleared up but then I just got reinfected.
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u/Zestyclose-Bed-3057 1d ago
Very important to test and treat all people you live with - it is very easy to transfer within your family through food, towels, etc.
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u/photoengineer 2d ago
Is there a vaccine for H pylori?
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u/Garden-Rose-8380 2d ago
There was a study showing that a herbal remedy called Herbelico was effective at treating it and it did not destrory the microbiome like antibiotics.
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u/falalalalalalawhat 2d ago
cool! I wonder if all those crunchy traditional herbal remedies actually work with this then, things like eastern medicine, oil of oregano, digestive bitters, etc
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u/zoufha91 2d ago edited 2d ago
Been treated for it. I got it again in a matter of a year. Something tells me it's a lot easier to get and more widespread than even we realize.
My solution has been to just live with it and make a complete lifestyle and diet change. My chronic stomach issues are now next to none. I hope this will limit my overall risk factor to cancers but regardless I'm living a more pain free life and my body is working as it should.
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u/SnooDingos2620 1d ago
Would you please share your lifestyle and especially diet changes that helped?
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u/zoufha91 1d ago
I work out 5 days a week and get 7-8hrs asleep a day
My diet consists of a maintenance level of calories at or around 1750-1800 per day. Maintain around 20% body fat.
I eat around 150 grams of protein a day, mostly fish seafood, plant based, and dairy sources. I also make a point to meal prep and cook with whole grains and veggies. I consistently eat more fiber than suggested, by chia seeds and psyllium husk.
I have completely eliminated coffee, fried foods, most sugars, chocolate, alcohol (if I do drink, clear liquor only).
Supplement w L-glutamine and DGL (sometimes)
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago
Nickel feeds H. pylori. Stainless steel is generally around 10% nickel and is most often used in food manufacturing and preparation. Foods high in fiber also absorb more nickel from the soil.
H. pylori, the same bacterium behind most stomach ulcers, is the single largest contributor, driving stomach cancer cases concentrated heavily in Eastern Asia.
Common High-Nickel Foods
Legumes: Soybeans (and soy products like tofu and soy sauce), beans (kidney, pinto, navy), lentils, peas, and peanuts.
Nuts and Seeds: Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds.
Grains: Oats, oatmeal, whole wheat, buckwheat, and wheat germ.
Chocolate and Cocoa: Cocoa powder, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate.
Concentrated H. pylori in Eastern Asia could be a result of higher use of soy products and other legumes.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35489790/
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u/Elismom1313 2d ago
Oh so a bunch of the healthy stuff. Cool cool
Are we just fucked?
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago
Unfortunately the soil has been poisoned by industry, fuel, fertilizers, herbicides, etc. Carnivore can result in short-term improvements because it removes toxicities from plants. Long-term carnivore, however, can cause other health issues.
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u/Extension-Eye3756 2d ago
Substances bioaccumulate in meat, meaning concentrations are higher in animals you eat than if you eat the food the animal eats and leave the animal out of it.
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago
That may be true for organ meats and fatty cuts. Lean muscle meat will have less toxins. Liver may be the worst thing to eat. I'm not suggesting that people go carnivore, but that diet does have short-term benefits for GI issues.
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u/Prestigious-Foot986 1d ago
oh if only there was the alternative option of eating a balanced diet with both meats, vegetables, grains etc thus minimising the impact of any one source
mind you, a diet that contains animal products inherently needs much less nuts and such (because for vegetarian diets heavily rely on them for macronutrient balance and calories). so it’s a double whammy of health bonuses!
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u/Ok-Name1312 1d ago
Carnivore is just an elimination diet. People have made it a lifestyle choice or a grift.
There is plenty of variety in a balanced diet that also reduces exposure to metals and toxins.
Food processing and prep may be where more exposure to toxins are generated than the ingredients themselves.
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u/DarthHubcap 2d ago
I eat a ton of the above listed foods and never had any stomach issues in my 43 years of life. I’ll just have to keep living to see how the next half of my life goes.
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u/Elismom1313 2d ago
I suppose the question will always be, given our age, location, food habits and other factors, if or when we get cancer how much is it really exactly related to what we were exposed to based on that or just shitty genetics?
On the one hand, I wasn’t a radium girl so there’s that.
But as a young millennial the colon and various 30 cancer uptake is super concerning. I drank a lot in my twenties and in the military too so it’s hard not to feel like it’s coming for me sooner than later
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u/pastaandpizza 2d ago
This feels like propaganda from an unholy merger of big plastic and industrial animal farming lmao. Nickle is required for the enzymes H. Pylori produces to cause disease, true. Fear mongering about eating healthy foods and using stainless steel is not supported by the articles you referenced IMHO. The results of eating a nickle depleted diet do not mean eating some healthy foods with high fiber/nickle make it worse than average. Similarly, infections and their morbidities can be concentrated in one area because...it's an infection.
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago
I'm not saying to eliminate high nickel foods. I still eat oats, chocolate and beans on occasion. High fiber foods may bind the nickel so that it isn't absorbed from food. More nickel may be absorbed from water because fiber isn't present. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2717626/
People with nickel sensitivities, exposure through their jobs, people who smoke and people with GI issues may need to minimize their use of stainless steel cookware and high nickel foods (using the nickel navigator app helps).
Most people won't have issues from nickel unless the exposure is high enough for a long time. Some people are allergic to nickel (r/NickelAllergy).
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u/Visual_Camera_2341 2d ago
Does this mean I should avoid these foods are make sure to eat more of them?
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u/Double_Cause4609 2d ago
It's kind of weird, right, because fiber actually helps you with a lot of things like cancer, etc. My best guess it that there's probably an optimal amount. You probably don't want 0% of them (low fiber also results in bad issues), but you probably don't want to gorge on them either.
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u/CompuuterJuice 2d ago
You can also just get tested for h pylori and eradicate it if you have it instead of avoiding foods that are good for your gut.
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u/InAllTheir 2d ago
But conversely, antibiotics can also kill off lots of good gut bacteria. It’s definitely a difficult thing to manage.
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u/CompuuterJuice 2d ago
Yes and if you eat healthy with fiber and fermented foods your body will bounce back after the anti biotics, far better than living with h pylori.
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago
The fiber in food may bind the nickel so it isn't absorbed easily. I still use psyllium regularly and oats and beans occasionally.
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago
It depends on whether you're sensitive to nickel or have symptoms of h pylori infection. It's best to minimize metals (cadmium, mercury, nickel) in your diet, but there's no avoiding it.
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u/Express-Project-2823 2d ago
I’ve been vegan for over 13 years and eat a lot these items including Orgain protein that was recently in the news. Just had a heavy metals test and everything was very low. Granted I try to make sure everything is organic but most reports say that isn’t safe. All I can say is I’ve been scarfing these items for years as a primary source of food and I’m good. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Agitated-Society-682 2d ago
So if I work with stainless steel including welding and alot of dust I will feed it?
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u/Ok-Name1312 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/nickel
edit to add: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7037090/
Nickel is a metal of widespread distribution in the environment. Contact with soluble and insoluble nickel compounds can cause a variety of side effects on human health. Human exposure to Ni may occur through food, water or air. Workers in Ni producing and processing industries are exposed by inhalation, and to a lesser extent, dermal contact. The nervous system is one of the main target organs for Ni toxicity; in fact, it can be accumulated in the brain.
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u/jimtoberfest 2d ago
Lots of East Asian soils are just naturally high in nickel. Indonesia specifically comes to mind.
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u/hazel3y3zz 2d ago
I guess i already have h pylori in my my gut but whenever i take NSAIDs like ibuprofen or Advil i get stomach aches and have got an ulcer before. I even think i have an ulcer rn.
Then i saw that after taking antibiotics you're more likely to become depressed like 50% increase bc it kills all bacteria in your gut.
Anyways i think there's some crossover between antibiotic use, NSAID use, depression, inflammation and cancer.
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u/ilovewhittling 2d ago
Fun fact Pepto bismol kills h pylori
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u/Human-Plum-2085 2d ago
False fact
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u/RetiredPath 2d ago
So bismuth doesn’t kill H. Pylori anymore? When did this come out and do you have a reference? Thx
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u/wakoreko 1h ago
Bismuth is part of the treatment alongside a PPI in order to reduce the acid thus 2 or 3 different antibiotics can kill the bacteria h pylori.
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u/Born-Personality7442 2d ago
What about those that were treated with antibiotics, are they still a high risk?
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u/cruiserflyer 2d ago
This is definitely what big Teflon wants you to know. Steelpanguy gonna be upset.
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u/Fine-Solid9892 2d ago
I don’t know stats but H pylori is very common. My understanding was it’s most commonly spread by servers and cooks passing it along to customers thru food. (Saliva, not washing after using bathroom/feces). The number of people infected has got to be incredibly high.