Helicobacter pylori and epstein–barr co-infection in gastric disease

The incidence of gastrointestinal diseases and in particular gastric cancer (GC) is high worldwide. Over the last few years, numerous studies have speculated that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can be correlated with gastric cancerogenesis. Virulence factors of H. pylori can contribute to the variability of clinical outcomes: among the most important virulence factors is the pathogenicity island (CagPAI), vacA and oipA gene. EBV infection usually persists in B cells and induces an inflammatory reaction in cooperation with H. pylori. In Sicily, H. pylori and EBV infections are particularly prevalent, and to our knowledge no study has addressed this yet. The aim …