Helicobacter pylori and Colorectal Cancer: Meeting Sir Austin Bradford Hill's Causality Criteria

Abstract

Introduction

Epidemiological and experimental studies have suggested that chronic H. pylori infection may be associated with colorectal cancer (CRC), a topic of growing interest. The Bradford-Hill criteria are the mainstay of the epidemiological approach to causal inference. We aim to evaluate the epidemiological evidence based on the Bradford-Hill causality criteria and the association between H. pylori and CRC.

Methodology

A literature review of the databases search: Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Embase, SciELO, Cochrane, and Medline. There are no limits in a period. Information sources that were coherent with the objectives set were selected.

Results

Applying the Bradford Hill criteria, we can conclude that H. pylori is positively associated with CRC. The current epidemiological findings should stimulate future studies to explain how H. pylori interacts with intestinal dysbiosis and the role of H. pylori eradication in the treatment and prevention of CRC.

Conclusions

H. pylori reasonably meets the Bradford Hill criteria for causality. Further studies are required to consolidate the data and generate strategies to determine whether H. pylori eradication translates into decreased CRC incidence and mortality in large populations.