Frontiers in Immunology (May 2022)

The Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapies Is Compromised by Helicobacter pylori Infection

  • Paul Oster,
  • Laurie Vaillant,
  • Brynn McMillan,
  • Dominique Velin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.899161
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Helicobacter pylori infects the gastric mucosa of a large number of humans. Although asymptomatic in the vast majority of cases, H pylori infection can lead to the development of peptic ulcers gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Using a variety of mechanisms, H pylori locally suppresses the function of the host immune system to establish chronic infection. Systemic immunomodulation has been observed in both clinical and pre-clinical studies, which have demonstrated that H pylori infection is associated with reduced incidence of inflammatory diseases, such as asthma and Crohn’s disease. The introduction of immunotherapies in the arsenal of anti-cancer drugs has revealed a new facet of H pylori-induced immune suppression. In this review, we will describe the intimate interactions between H pylori and its host, and formulate hypothtyeses describing the detrimental impact of H pylori infection on the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies.

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