Infection caused by Helicobacter pylori leads to the development of progressive inflammatory changes in the gastric mucosa, which in turn can contribute to the development of malignant gastric tumors. The results of a long-term randomized study by American scientists led by Dr. P. Correa have shown that the eradication of H. pylori is an important aspect in the treatment of adult patients with preneoplastic processes in the gastric mucosa.

The study involved 795 adult patients with pre-neoplastic processes in the gastric mucosa. Patients received either three-component H. pylori eradication therapy in conjunction with antioxidant therapy (ascorbic acid and beta-carotene) or antioxidant therapy alone. At the end of the 6th year of the study program, patients who had not yet received eradication treatment were prescribed treatment aimed at eradicating H. pylori. During the initial visit, 3, 6 and 12 years of the program, patients underwent a biopsy with histological examination to record changes in the gastric mucosa.

At the initial visit, H. pylori was found in 97% of patients, by the 12th year of the study, in 53% of patients. Among the 394 patients who received eradication treatment when they enrolled in the study, the eradication rate was 51%, 75% and 51% at 3, 6 and 12 years of the program, respectively. In 180 patients who underwent eradication treatment at the age of 6 years, and not at the time of their inclusion in the study, the eradication rate of H. pylori at 12 years was 47%.

The multivariate model showed a significant regression of lesions of the gastric mucosa with an increase in the duration of the negative period of H. pylori. In 12i H. pylori - negative patients, a reverse development of 14.8% more and 13.7% of disease progression were recorded than in H. pylori - positive patients (p = 0.001). The reverse development of preneoplastic lesions of the gastric mucosa develops in proportion to the square of the duration of the negative period of H. pylori. The results of this study confirm the fact that patients with pre-neoplastic processes in the gastric mucosa should treat the infection caused by H. pylori and achieve complete eradication of the pathogen.