Chronic Opisthorchis viverrini Infection Changes the Liver Microbiome

Gavin……as we know several other things that do cause CC to develop in some patients……I think we will eventually find a few more items, like H. Pylori, to add to that. My first surgeon said to us that the “cause” was most probably “inflammation”, but the problem is what all is the cause of the inflammation that leads to CC. Therein lies the “rub”.

Lainy…..you know me….and Gavin. Unfortunately, I don’t think there IS a simpler way to describe it. It’s the nature of the beast. (I do know you were jesting though). LOL

Julie

Gavin…..We had a “brief” conversation with a Dr. this week about H. Pylori and my history with it and CC……and while he thought it was interesting….he said there was no cause and effect proven. Sigh. Yeah…I know….science and all that …gotta have scientific method. But, sometimes, wouldn’t you think that looking at a story like mine, it would itch the thought process enough to have someone see something that looks suspicious and want to research it? I had found a huge study in Thailand when I was first diagnosed……and the possible connection of H. Pylori (in my case). And…..have had several doctors have some interest. My GP actually believed enough in my thought processes on this to order the H. Pylori blood test that showed I had antibodies to it (so I either had…or had had it), and then we did a poo test which showed I no longer had H. Pylori. Where did it go? I had never been treated and it takes two antibiotic and omeprazole at the same time to get rid of it. There are other aspects and symptoms to this I won’t go into here. I think I’ve outlined them before on old posts back in 2014. But, once the first resection was done…..those symptoms stopped and never returned. The big problem in looking at H. Pylori being the cause of bile duct cancer has been that it is normally seen as something that lives in the stomach….and would not survive in the environment of the bile ducts. But, the Thailand study proved that they had found H. Pylori in the bile ducts of something like 2/3rds of the CC patients they studied…which was considered to be statistically significant. Is there NO research in this county on this? I know Thailand has a large amount of CC……so they have a huge interest in finding a cause. But, I would be interesting in knowing if there is any place here in the US that is studying H. Pylori and it’s possible connection to CC.

GAvin, I have been pushing the idea of H. Pylori being a causative factor in the development and growth of CC since back in the early months following my diagnosis. It’s good to see that this is actually being studied. It may be that it is a combination of H Pylori along with other factors, but I believe this will eventually be shown to be one of several causes of CC at least for intrahepatic types .

Good read.

Julie