Cancer Types Teams
Gastric Cancer Prevention Team (GCP)

Starting date: August 2022

Work Programme

The overall aim of the Gastric Cancer Prevention Team (GCP) is to contribute towards reducing the global burden of gastric cancer by producing robust evidence to increase the understanding of its causes and the efficacy and effectiveness of population-based interventions and prevention programmes, and ultimately to implement evidence-based interventions for the prevention and control of gastric cancer and to support their practical application worldwide. GCP aims to achieve its goal through cross-Agency and international collaborations.

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GCP has four main themes and related activities:

• Describing the current and future burden of gastric cancer
  • Understanding the global burden of gastric cancer attributable to Helicobacter pylori infection, its preventable fraction, and costs related to prevention strategies
  • Estimating the expected burden of pylori-related diseases, focusing on gastric cancer and peptic ulcer diseases in high-risk areas
  • Estimating the impact of various pylori screen-and-treat scenarios on gastric cancer burden through public health decision modelling

• Understanding risk factors in diverse populations with variable gastric cancer risks using standardized multicentre protocols
  • Investigating the epidemiology of H. pylori infection and co-factors for gastric cancer using standardized methods in areas with low and high incidence of gastric cancer (ENIGMA studies)
  • Investigating blood metabolite signatures for gastric cancer development prospectively using samples taken before diagnosis of gastric cancer, and generating evidence for the role of modifiable risk factors in gastric cancer development (Meta-GC project with EPIC collaborators, and International GC Cohort Consortium involving five other USA-based cohorts)

• Investigating the role of H. pylori treatment and endoscopic surveillance for gastric cancer prevention in high-incidence areas
  • Effect of H. pylori eradication on gastric cancer prevention in the Republic of Korea: a randomized controlled clinical trial (HELPER, collaboration with the National Cancer Center of the Republic of Korea)
  • Multicentre randomized study of H. pylori eradication and pepsinogen testing for prevention of gastric cancer mortality (GISTAR, collaboration with the University of Latvia)

• Implementation research focusing on population-based pylori screen-and-treat strategies in high-risk populations for the prevention and reduction of inequalities caused by gastric cancer
  • Implementation projects in high-risk areas in Europe (EUROHELICAN and TOGAS projects) and elsewhere
• Development of global guidelines for gastric cancer prevention
  • Developing guidance on the implementation of population-based pylori screen-and-treat strategies for gastric cancer prevention in various resource settings (IARC Working Group Report)
  • Leading development of the European guidelines on gastric cancer prevention, screening, and care and the quality assurance schemes in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (European Commission Initiative on Gastric Cancer)

The future global burden of gastric cancer is predicted to increase significantly, and this cancer type contributes considerably to cancer disparities in many world regions; therefore, intense research into gastric cancer etiology and prevention is warranted. GCP’s wide range of activities – from etiological research projects identifying novel biomarkers of metabolic perturbations to randomized controlled clinical trials of primary and secondary prevention and demonstration projects of H. pylori screen-and-treat programmes – provide a comprehensive overview of gastric cancer prevention efforts from IARC and offer further opportunities for new collaborations.

Team Composition

Team Leader: Dr Jin Young Park, Early Detection, Prevention, and Infections Branch (EPR), IARC
Email: parkjy@iarc.who.int

Team members:
Ms Viktoria Knaze (Research Project Associate, EPR)
Dr Partha Basu (Branch Head, EPR)
Dr Gary Clifford (Deputy Branch Head, EPR)
Dr Iacopo Baussano (Scientist, EPR)
Dr Andrea Gini (Postdoctoral Scientist, EPR)
Dr Behnoush Abedi-Ardekani (Scientist, GEM)
Dr Mazda Jenab (Scientist, NME)
Dr Pekka Keski-Rahkonen (Scientist, NME)
Dr Sabina Rinaldi (Deputy Branch Head, NME)
Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram (Deputy Branch Head, CSU)
Dr Eileen Morgan (Scientist, CSU)

Key networks: The international team members span many countries, including networks from HELPER (the Republic of Korea), ENIGMA (the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chile, Uganda, Zambia, and New Zealand), GISTAR (Latvia), EUROHELICAN (Slovenia, Latvia, and France), TOGAS (Latvia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain), and EPIC (France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany).

Key funding: French National Cancer Institute (INCa), EU4Health (European Union), National Institutes of Health (USA)

Key publications

1. Ford AC, Yuan Y, Park JY, Forman D, Moayyedi P (2025). Eradication therapy to prevent gastric cancer in H. pylori-positive individuals: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies. Gastroenterology. (forthcoming)
2. Rugge M, Genta RM, Malfertheiner P, Dinis-Ribeiro M, El-Serag H, Graham DY, et al.; RE.GA.IN (2024). RE.GA.IN.: the Real-world Gastritis Initiative–updating the updates. Gut. 73(3):407–441. https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2023-331164 PMID:38383142
3. Sun D, Mülder DT, Li Y, Nieboer D, Park JY, Suh M, et al. (2024). The effect of nationwide organized cancer screening programs on gastric cancer mortality: a synthetic control study. Gastroenterology. 166(3):503–514. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2023.11.286 PMID:38007053
4. Sjomina O, Vangravs R, Ļeonova E, Poļaka I, Pūpola D, Čivkulis K, et al. (2023). Clarithromycin-containing triple therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication is inducing increased long-term resistant bacteria communities in the gut. Gut. 73(7):1214–1215. https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2023-329792 PMID:37364984
5. Knaze V, Freisling H, Cook P, Heise K, Acevedo J, Cikutovic M, et al. (2023). Association between salt intake and gastric atrophy by Helicobacter pylori infection: first results from the Epidemiological Investigation of Gastric Malignancy (ENIGMA). Eur J Nutr. 62(5):2129–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03132-w PMID:36964250
6. Li M, Park JY, Sheikh M, Kayamba V, Rumgay H, Jenab M, et al. (2023). Population-based investigation of common and deviating patterns of gastric cancer and oesophageal cancer incidence across populations and time. Gut. 72(5):846–54. https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2022-328233 PMID:36241389
7. Park JY, Herrero R (2021). Recent progress in gastric cancer prevention. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 50–51:101733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpg.2021.101733 PMID:33975687
8. Arnold M, Park JY, Camargo MC, Lunet N, Forman D, Soerjomataram I (2020). Is gastric cancer becoming a rare disease? A global assessment of predicted incidence trends to 2035. Gut. 69(5):823–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2019-320234 PMID:32001553
9. Herrero R, Heise K, Acevedo J, Cook P, Gonzalez C, Gahona J, et al.; ENIGMA Chile study group (2020). Regional variations in Helicobacter pylori infection, gastric atrophy and gastric cancer risk: the ENIGMA study in Chile. PLoS One. 15(9):e0237515. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237515 PMID:32898138
10. Park JY, Nam BH, Herrero R, Choi IJ (2017). Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication on gastric cancer prevention in Korea: a randomized controlled clinical trial. In: Matsui S, Crowley J, editors. Frontiers of biostatistical methods and applications in clinical oncology. Singapore: Springer; pp. 315–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0126-0_19