Frequencies of serum antibodies to Helicobacter pylori CagA and VacA in a Turkish population with various gastroduodenal diseases

Summary Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) strains secreting cytotoxin‐associated gene A (CagA) and vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) proteins is associated with more severe gastroduodenal pathologies. However, this association varies among geographical regions and ethnic groups. We investigated the frequencies of antibodies to CagA and VacA proteins in 131 H. pylori‐infected dyspeptic patients [40 duodenal ulcer (DU), 19 gastric ulcer (GU), 28 gastric cancer (GC), and 44 non‐ulcer dyspepsia (NUD)] across 30 H. pylori‐infected and endoscopically normal asymptomatic subjects (AS). Anti‐CagA and anti‐VacA antibodies were detected by Western blotting. The positivity rates of anti‐CagA and anti‐VacA antibodies were higher in patients with DU (92.5 and 75%), GU (89.5 and 84.2%) and GC (96.4 and 85.7%) than patients with NUD (70.5 and 50%) and AS (50 and 23.3%) (p