Salem Health : Cancer Diseases , Symptoms , and Conditions : Acoustic neuromas

Etiology and the disease process: Chronic inflammation of the stomach in response to untreated H. pylori infection lasting many years leads to the atrophy of stomach cells and a corresponding loss of acid-secreting capacity. Some patients may be more predisposed to achlorhydria in the presence of H. pylori because they respond to the infection by producing a specific inflammatory agent that is also a potent proton pump inhibitor. Autoimmune disease can also produce achlorhydria if the body makes antibodies that inactivate parietal cell proteins. Achlorhydria is associated with the development of malignant cancer of the stomach. Over 60 percent of patients with gastric cancer have achlorhydria compared with 20 percent of healthy individuals. Acid normally acts as a disinfectant to prevent overgrowth of harmful bacteria; achlorhydria contributes to cancer development because the bacteria synthesize carcinogenic chemicals from nitrates present in food. Achlorhydria is also associated with the formation of gastric carcinoid tumors. If acid output by the stomach is disrupted, the body overproduces the hormone gastrin, which stimulates overgrowth of enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells in the stomach. This overgrowth may progress to carcinoid formation.