In addition, higher levels of exposure among Vietnam veterans were associated with increased frequency of ischemic heart disease (p<0.01), valvular heart disease (p<0.01), and retinopathy (p<0.01). We conclude that exposure to Agent Orange is associated with various health impacts in Korean Vietnam veterans.

Gastric adenocarcinoma is the most prevalent cancer in South Korea, and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is also common. This study was performed to examine the association between H. pylori infection and gastric cancer, taking into account various other factors. To investigate the association between gastric adenocarcinoma and H. pylori infection, determined by urease-positive reaction in the CLO test, a total of 175 paired specimens (175 tumor and 175 tissues adjacent to tumor) of stomach cancer patients and a total of 113 control specimens were obtained. The positive H. pylori infection rates were 78.9% (138/175) among the patients in specimens of tumor or tissues adjacent to the tumor and 41.6% (47/113) among controls in the CLO test. A positive correlation between H. pylori infection and gastric cancer was observed (age-adjusted odds ratio, 7.0; MH χ χ χ χ 2 = = = =34.5 with P < < < <0.0005). These data suggest that stomach cancer patients in Korea have high infection rates of H. pylori regardless of site specificity, and this infection might be causally associated with stomach cancer. Key words: Gastric adenocarcinoma -Helicobacter pylori -CLO test -Cancer causationHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative, spiral-shaped organism that was isolated from the gastric mucosa of patients with chronic gastritis in 1983.1) H. pylori is now accepted as the major cause of type B gastritis, and H. pylori gastritis is strongly associated with duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer.2-4) Atropic gastritis has also been reported to be a precursor lesion for gastric cancer.5) Recent studies on the prevalence of H. pylori in gastric cancer patients have stimulated interest in its potential role in the development of gastric adenocarcinoma.6, 7) A report suggests that the acquisition of H. pylori early in life increases the risk of developing both gastric cancer and gastric ulcer. 8)Many epidemiological data suggest that high rates of H. pylori infection might be related to high rates of gastric cancer.9, 10) On the other hand, dietary factors such as consumption of smoked foods (sources of nitroso compounds), pickled foods and salted foods may be also related to stomach cancer. 11,12) In Korea, gastric adenocarcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed malignant disease, 13) and among 50 countries selected around the world, Korea was ranked first for age-adjusted death rates from stomach cancer during the period from 1986 to 1988 in a report by the American Cancer Society. 14) Thus, it is worthwhile to investigate the relationship between H. pylori infection and stomach cancer in Korea. 19,20) Among them, the CLO test is a simple, rapid and highly specific, and is commonly used for the diagnosis of H. pylori. Here, we compared the infection rates of H. pylori in stomach tissues within the tumor, normal tissues adjacent to the tumor of the same gastric cancer patient and stomach tissues of controls by means of the CLO test to examine the putative association between the infection and gastric adenocarcinoma. MATER...

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