Reacción a "Researchers calculate the future incidence of gastric cancer in children and adolescents today"

The study by Park and colleagues poses major challenges for the clinical and scientific community worldwide. The study makes a projection of the estimated number of new cases of stomach cancer diagnosed in the coming years, considering in particular the world population born between 2008 and 2017, and how many of these cases could be attributed to infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. These numbers are dramatic, indicating that of the 1.347 billion people born, at least 15.6 million will suffer from gastric cancer and 75.8% will be attributable to this bacterium.

It should be noted that Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that has been declared a type I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), meaning that there is sufficient scientific evidence to say that this bacterium can cause cancer. Unfortunately, the bacterium is highly prevalent and could be infecting more than 50% of the population in general. This bacterium promotes the development of gastritis and, if the infection persists without treatment, it promotes more serious stomach lesions over time, such as cancer.

For this reason, the work of Park and colleagues is a warning and highlights, with solid data, that countries with high human development indices will account for 50% of these cases of gastric cancer, suggesting that research and screening strategies to prevent this type of tumour may not be sufficient. The authors emphasise existing global disparities, highlighting initiatives such as EUROHELICAN and TOGAS in the European Union and the actions of South Korea, Japan and China, which have focused on national and regional digestive endoscopy programmes, and contrasting these with the lack of active programmes in regions of the Americas and Africa, reinforcing the urgent need for policies and greater efforts, not only for the prevention of gastric cancer, but also for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. It should be noted that this bacterium has shown resistance to conventional antimicrobial therapies commonly used for its elimination. Therefore, diagnostic and therapeutic tools also pose a challenge in terms of access for different communities and human groups, depending on their own public health policies and economic capacity.

In their discussion, the authors invite authorities and the scientific community to take a different view of this situation: gastric cancer would no longer be a problem only in countries commonly associated with high incidence of this disease, but rather a generational problem, since an individual during their lifetime may be exposed to Helicobacter pylori infection on multiple occasions or live with this infection for many years before having access to timely diagnosis and treatment. In turn, eradication of the bacterium would be decisive for a sustained reduction in the risk of developing stomach cancer.