CAN HELICOBACTER-PYLORI ERADICATION PREVE NT GASTRIC-CARCINOMA - INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GERMAN-AUSTRIAN PRISMA STUDY

The question as to whether the eradication of Helicobacter pylori may be a prophylactic measure in the development of gastric carcinoma can be clarified only by prospective comparative intervention studies. Wit h this inj mind, a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled stu dy - the PRISMA Study - is presently underway in Germany and Austria. The main objective of this study is to investigate the question whethe r eradication of Helicobacter pylori leads to a decrease in the incide nce of neoplastic changes in the stomach. The study admits men aged be tween, 55 and 65 years who have a corpus-dominant high-risk gastritis. A high-risk gastritis is considered to be present when the grade and activity of the gastritis are equally as - or more - pronounced in the corpus as in the antrum, and when intestinal metaplasia is found in b iopsy material from either the corpus or the antrum. Focussing on this group with a comparatively high risk for developing stomach cancer al lows us to keep: the number of patients relatively small and the perio d of observation relatively short One group of patients is randomized to medication aimed at eradicating the Helicobacter pylon infection wh ile the control group is given placebo in place of antibiotics, each o f the groups being blinded to the treatment it receives. We should lik e to ask you to support and actively participate in this' important sc ientific study aimed at determining whether Helicobacter pylori eradic ation treatment can indeed prevent gastric carcinoma.