Evaluation of the relationship between H. Pylori-infected gastric mucosa and prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

Objective: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common type of mesenchymal tumor accounting for 2.2% of all malignant gastric tumors. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play crucial roles in gastric carcinogenesis. In addition, Helicobacter pylori has been linked to GIST as it induces an epithelial response that can home MSCs to the stomach mucosa. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between H. pylori-infected gastric mucosa and the development of CD117-positive GIST and evaluate the prognosis of H. pylori-infected gastric mucosa of GIST patients that received anti-CD117 therapy.

Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted on H. pylori-infected GIST patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2021. The follow-up period was performed for a minimum of 2 years. Clinicopathological factors for each patient were collected from cases selected from the Registry of Pathology and Surgery Departments at Assiut University Hospitals.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference between our study population regarding the overall survival of studied patients, disease-free survival of studied patients, and the relationship between H. pylori-infected gastric mucosa and development, grading, therapy response, and overall survival of GIST except in status at last follow-up.

Conclusions: Our study is the first to reveal that H. pylori infection is linked to a worse prognosis for GIST patients. H. pylori has the potential to be used as a strong predictive biomarker for GIST individuals in the future. Clinical research with large samples as well as prospective designs are needed to confirm this connection.