H pylori May Affect Immunotherapy
Researchers reported that their meta-analysis of 4 studies showed a reduction in the overall survival (OS) of patients infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) receiving immunotherapy for cancer.
“Cancer immunotherapy has shown promising results in several tumors, but its efficacy is influenced by the immune state of the body,” the authors wrote. “Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection can modulate the immune function of the body through various pathways, ultimately affecting the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.”
The investigators searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify published reports of relevant studies, then extracted and pooled the hazard ratio (HR) of both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of 263 patients with H pylori receiving immunotherapy.
“Compared to the control group, patients receiving cancer immunotherapy with H. pylori infection had a shorter OS (HR = 2.68, 95% CI: 2.00–4.11, p < 0.00001) and PFS (HR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.66–3.60, p < 0.00001),” the authors wrote. “Our meta-analysis suggested that H. pylori infection has a detrimental effect on cancer immunotherapy.”
Reference:
Gong X, Shen L, Xie J, Liu D, Xie Y, Liu D. Helicobacter pylori infection reduces the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Helicobacter. Published online September 3, 2023.
