الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
H. pylori is a major triggering factor for gastric carcinoma, however, only a small proportion of infected patients progress to carcinoma. H. pylori strains are genetically very heterogeneous and genetic variation within genes encoding virulence factors contributes to differences in the pathogenicity of strains.
The vacA gene, encoding the vacuolating cytotoxin A (vacA), is H. pylori virulence-associated gene that exhibits variation among strains. This gene is present in the majority of H. pylori strains; however, considerable differences in vacuolating activities are observed between strains. This variation is attributed to variations in vacA gene structures within the signal (s) region, the middle (m) region, and the intermediate (i) region (located between the s and m regions).
Infection with vacA s1, i1 and m1 strains increases the risk for progression of gastric premalignant lesions and for gastric carcinoma. The significance of the vacA i1 and m1 genotypes for gastric carcinoma in this geographic area remains to be fully elucidated.
Few studies have addressed the role of H. pylori virulence factor vacA and its genotypes among Egyptian patients with gastric carcinoma. Thus, this study had addressed frequency of vacA genotypes as well as serum anti-vacA IgA in a cohort of Egyptian patients with H-pylori-related gastric carcinoma.