about half of the population in the developed countries carries this bacteria and nearly 90% are adults ( 1 ) . more than 80% of adults are infected in japan and south america ( 2 ) . in european countries 30 - 60% of middle aged the prevalence of infection increases with age , although this may be largely a cohort effect ( 4 ) . the mode of transmission is unknown but proposed routes include oral - oral and faecal - oral . helicobacter pylori have been implicated as having a pathological role in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases . the international agency for research on cancer has categorized helicobacter pylori as a group i carcinogen ( 5 ) . small number of studies confirmed h. pylori as an important factor linked to the development of malignancy . the aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of h. pylori infection in different surgical diseases in patients with six different cancer types . this study reports preliminary results of the large prospective , cohort study carried out in the clinical center of serbia . we analyzed 60 consecutive patients with malignancy ( gastric cancer , pancreatic cancer , hepatocellular cancer , intestinal cancer , colon cancer , rectal cancer ) who underwent surgical treatment at the department of emergency surgery of clinical centre of serbia , between september 2007 and september 2009 . commercial test enzygnost anti - helicobacter pylori ii / iga ( igg ) ( simens , germany ) was used for the qualitative detection of h. pylori - specific human iga and igg antibodies in the serum . quantification in enzygnost - units ( u / ml ) is achived by a single - point procedure . all the available data were analyzed by computer program ( spss , chicago , il , usa ) . all the available data were analyzed by computer program ( spss , chicago , il , usa ) . the prevalences of specific iga and igg antibodies to helicobacter pylori in patient s serum according to cancer type are given in table 1 . all patients , regardless the cancer type , had elevated h. pylori iga and igg antibodies levels . the main finding of this study was that patients with examined cancer types that underwent abdominal surgery exibited a strong antibody reaction to helicobacter pylori . h. pylori has been implicated as a carcinogenic factor for non - cardia gastric cancer and causes a persistent inflammatory - proliferative state that evolves from chronic superficial gastritis to precancerous atrophic gastritis , metaplasia , and dysplasia ( 6 ) . prospective epidemiological studies have shown that h. pylori positive patients may be indicated in high risk populations of non - cardia gastric cancer development ( 7,8 ) . most studies of asian populations have found a positive association between h. pylori seropositivity and cardia cancer , whereas most studies of western populations have found no association or an inverse association ( 8 , 9 ) . meta - analysis of huand and coworkers confirmed the relationship between h. pylori seropositivity and gastric cancer ( 10 ) . pancreatic cancer is among the most fatal cancers worldwide and one for which few preventable risk factors has been established . gastric carriage of h. pylori , particularly cytotoxin - associated gene - a - positive ( caga+ ) strains , is a risk factor for peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer and may have a similar etiologic relationship with pancreatic cancer . the first study found greater h. pylori seropositivity among 92 subjects with pancreatic cancer ( 65% ) than among 62 control subjects ( 45% ; control subjects had either colorectal cancer or no disease ) and showed a similar significant doubling of risk . the other study of stolzenberg - solomon and coworkers supported a possible role for h. pylori carriage in the development of exocrine pancreatic cancer . however , the possibility that helicobacter pylori is an initiator of colorectal neoplasia ( 13 , 14 ) is a subject of debate . most associations between neoplastic colorectal lesions ( adenomas and carcinomas ) and h. pylori are based on studies correlating these lesions with h. pylori seropositivity ( 15 - 18 ) or indirect evidence such as increased gastrin or caga+ levels ( 19,20 ) . other studies have failed to demonstrate this association based on seropositivity ( 21 - 23 ) ; indeed it has been suggested that h. pylori does not colonize rectal mucosa ( 24 ) . although our preliminary results suggests the association of h. pylori positivity and different cancers , further studies are necessary .
the aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of helicobacter pylori infection in different surgical diseases in patients with six different cancer types . 
 we analyzed sixty consecutive patients with malignancy ( gastric cancer , pancreatic cancer , hepatocellular cancer , intestinal cancer , colon cancer , rectal cancer ) . 
 detection of specific iga and igg antibodies to helicobacter pylori in human serum was determined by enzygnost anti - helicobacter pylori ii / iga ( igg ) using elisa processor ( siemens , germany ) . 
 this study confirmed statistically significant association between helicobacter pylori seropositivity and all types of cancer included in the study . 
 all patients had elevated levels of helicobacter pylori iga and igg antibodies . 
 patients with examined cancer types that underwent abdominal surgery exibited a strong antibody reaction to helicobacter pylori .