Reduced incidence of acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) of the gut in Chinese carriers of Helicobacter Pylori during allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) infection is associated with gastritis and peptic ulcer, but its relationship with gut graft versus host disease (GVHD) is unknown. We investigated the association between H. Pylori carriage and incidence and severity of mucosal toxicity and GVHD in 128 consecutive matched sibling stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients. Using a verified enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA), 43.5% of patients had H. Pylori exposure before SCT. There was absolute concordance between serological and breath test data in 40 prospective cases. There was no increased risk in WHO grade 3 or 4 mucositis in H. Pylori carriers. Significant (grade II or above) overall GVHD was only predicted by preceding mucositis (p<0.001), while gut GVHD was associated with increased age (p=0.001) and mucositis (p=0.022). Despite increased incidence with age, H. Pylori carriage was associated with significantly reduced risk of gut GVHD (p=0.04) but not overall GVHD. The reduced risk of immune-mediated gut inflammation in H. Pylori carriers after SCT may be related to the known reduced incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in chronic H. Pylori carriers.