Helicobacter pylori prevalence in colorectal polyps: Increased risk of neoplastic transformation

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) in colorectal polyps and whether this infection differs according to neoplastic and dysplastic polyp types.

Materials and Methods: A total of 593 patients (mean age 59.5±12.0), 279 females and 314 males, who underwent colonoscopy and endoscopy at Erzurum Training and Research Hospital were included in the study. The patients were grouped into two groups with endoscopic findings. These groups are patients with colorectal polyps (n=330) and those with normal colonoscopy results (n=263). The presence of H. Pylori infection was diagnosed with endoscopic biopsy. Hematological parameters were analyzed.

Results: H. Pylori positivity was detected at a rate of 59.1% in patients with colorectal polyps, while this rate was found to be 21.3% in the normal colonoscopy group (p<0.001). In patients with H. Pylori-positive colorectal polyps, 92.3% of the polyps were neoplastic polyps, and 7.7% were non-neoplastic polyps. The frequency of dysplasia was 66.2% in the H. Pylori positive group and 24.4% in the H. Pylori negative group. H. Pylori positivity increases the risk of neoplastic polyps by 3.2 times (OR=3.2, CI=1.6-6.4, p<0.001) and dysplasia by six times (OR=6.0, CI=3.6-9.8, p<0.001).

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that H. Pylori infection is strongly associated with colorectal polyps, especially neoplastic and dysplastic polyps. The findings suggest that H. Pylori infection might be a possible risk factor for the colorectal cancer development and that H. Pylori eradication can be considered in cancer prevention strategies.