Published online Aug 28, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i32.3617
Peer-review started: April 26, 2018
First decision: May 24, 2018
Revised: May 30, 2018
Accepted: June 27, 2018
Article in press: June 27, 2018
Published online: August 28, 2018
Processing time: 122 Days and 22.9 Hours
Both Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and liver diseases, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), viral hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), have high prevalences worldwide, and the relationship between H. pylori infection and liver disease has been discussed for many years. Although positive correlations between H. pylori and NAFLD have been identified in some clinical and experimental studies, negative correlations have also been obtained in high-quality clinical studies. Associations between H. pylori and the pathogenesis of chronic viral hepatitis, mainly disease progression with fibrosis, have also been suggested in some clinical studies. Concerning HCC, a possible role for H. pylori in hepatocarcinogenesis has been identified since H. pylori genes have frequently been detected in resected HCC specimens. However, no study has revealed the direct involvement of H. pylori in promoting the development of HCC. Although findings regarding the correlations between H. pylori and liver disease pathogenesis have been accumulating, the existing data do not completely lead to an unequivocal conclusion. Further high-quality clinical and experimental analyses are necessary to evaluate the efficacy of H. pylori eradication in ameliorating the histopathological changes observed in each liver disease.
Core tip: Both Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and liver diseases have high prevalences worldwide, and their relationship has been discussed for a long time. In this review, we comprehensively summarize positive and negative correlations suggested in clinical and experimental studies, and conclude that existing data cannot fully lead us to make a decision. We also point out the necessity of further analyses evaluating the efficacy of H. pylori eradication on histopathological changes in each liver disease. We believe this paper would help readers to gain a better understanding of the relationship between H. pylori and liver diseases.