Taiwan’s research on Helicobacter pylori bacteria has become a reference for the treatment of gastric problems in other nations and has resulted in revised global treatment guidelines, National Research Program for Biopharmaceuticals head and National Taiwan University president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) said on Wednesday.
This type of worldwide recognition for Taiwan’s work is “not an easy achievement,” Yang said.
Several major clinical trials conducted in Taiwan have become important references for the rest of the world, Yang said at a meeting to release research results on H pylori, a type of bacterium that grows in the digestive tract and can invade the stomach lining.
A team of biomedical researchers at the university have discovered an effective regimen of antibiotics against the bacteria, Yang said.
The regimen, which uses sequential therapy — three types of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors — is more effective against the bacteria than conventional triple therapy, he said.
Taiwanese, particularly in rural areas, are prone to stomach problems related to H pylori infections, which puts them at high risk for gastritis, stomach ulcers and cancer, Yang said.
On Matsu, where the rate of H pylori infections is highest, researchers carried out clinical trials of the sequential therapy for five years, resulting in a dramatic decrease in incidences of stomach cancer, he said.
In the wider population, the incidence of gastric ulcers has dropped by half over the past decade and the rate of stomach cancer has also decreased as a result of treatment based on the research, he said.
Also based on Taiwan’s research, the International Agency for Research on Cancer — an affiliate of the WHO — has developed a model for H pylori screening to prevent stomach cancer, Yang said.
He said that while Taiwan’s clinical tests might lag behind those in China and South Korea in terms of volume, the quality is excellent and they have been recognized by the US Food and Drug Administration.
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