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Researchers at the University of Zurich have shown that PARP (Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase) blockers can be used to treat gastric cancers induced by Helicobacter-infection in a mouse model.
H. pylori, a gram-negative bacterium, causes a chronic low-level inflammation of the stomach lining, and is strongly linked to the development of duodenal and gastric ulcers and stomach cancer.
The scientists have shown that oral administration of a PARP inhibitor dissolved in drinking water blocks the formation of pre-cancerous lesions such as atrophic gastritis, epithelial hyperplasia and intestinal metaplasia.
The same treatment also leads to the regression of pre-existing lesions and PARP inhibition induced stable regression of pre-neoplastic lesions, well beyond the end of therapy, when applied together with antibiotics to eradicate the underlying Helicobacter infection.
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