RISK FOR GASTRIC LYMPHOMA IN PERSONS WITH CAGA(-) HELICOBACTER-PYLORIINFECTION() AND CAGA()

Infection with Helicobacter pylori increases the risk for gastric non- Hodgkin's lymphoma (GNHL), Strains that express CagA protein are thoug ht to be particularly virulent, It was determined whether CagA(+) H. p ylori infection increased the risk for GNHL more than CagA(-) infectio n, Thirty-two cases and 130 controls previously tested for H. pylori a ntibodies were tested for CagA antibodies by ELISA, The risk for GNHL was compared among CagA(+), CagA(-), and uninfected persons by use of conditional logistic regression, CagA(+) subjects had 8.2 times the ri sk for GNHL than uninfected persons (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5 -26.7), CagA(-) subjects had 4.4 times the risk for GNHL than uninfect ed persons (95% CI, 1.2-16.5). Among infected subjects only, CagA(+) i nfection was not associated with significantly increased risk for GNHL when compared with CagA(-) infection (odds ratio, 2.1; 95% CI, 0.8-5. 4), This study does not support a major role for CagA in lymphomagenes is.