Researchers Identify Early Signs of Gastric Cancer

It has long been known that Helicobacter pylori infection can be a risk factor for gastric cancer, but what’s not known is why the bug is harmless in some people but causes stomach tumors to form in others. An international team of researchers has identified a set of “glycans,” or sugars attached to proteins, that they believe could help doctors identify the patients who are at most risk for developing gastric cancers. Scientists at the University of California at Davis, working with teams in Mexico and South Korea, showed significant differences in the glycan profiles of patients with gastric cancer and those with gastritis or ulcers, which they published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.