Germ Treatment Reduces the Risk of Tumor Recurrence

Japanese researchers proved in a recent investigation the link between a common germ and cancer. In their landmark study, germ elimination greatly reduced the risk of tumor recurrence after stomach cancer surgery. Also a cause of peptic ulcer, the culprit known as Helicobacter pylori is believed to cause malignancy of the stomach.

 The researchers evaluated cancer recurrence of 544 patients who previously went under the knife for early stomach cancer. Half of the patients received H. pylori regimen (eradication group) that consist of amoxicillin, clarithromycin and lansoprazole. The other half received standard care with no H. pylori treatment (control group).

 After three years, 24 patients in the control group and nine patients in the eradication group developed new lesions. Taking into account age, gender, type and location of tumor and other factors, it was concluded that eradicating the germ reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by approximately 65 percent. The researchers recommended that prophylactic H. pylori eradication regimen after surgery for early stomach malignancy be used to prevent tumor recurrence.

This Is Your Digestive System

Our digestive system is one of the many functional systems in our body, along with the nervous and circulatory systems. The digestive system is made up of the intestinal tract, canals and organs that aid in the digestion of the food you eat. The longest part of the digestive system is the tube that starts at the mouth and ends at the anus — the digestive tract. Along the way, the digestive tract will pass through the esophagus, stomach and both small and large intestines.

Within these organs, there lie several glands that secrete enzymes, which help break down and digest food particles. The digestive tract, too, has layers of muscles that help digest and break down food materials. These muscles contract and push the food along the digestive tract. This process is called peristalsis. In addition to the digestive tract, the liver and pancreas secrete digestive enzymes that are circulated throughout the intestinal tract. The liver’s digestive juices are stored in the gallbladder. Once they are needed by the small and large intestines, the gallbladder releases these enzymes.

During the digestive process, food enters the mouth to be ground by our teeth and broken down by our saliva. Thereafter, the food particles slide down the esophagus and into the stomach, where they will be broken down again by the stomach’s acid. The intestinal walls absorb the food’s useful nutrients. The leftover food is moved to the large intestine and will be flushed out through the anus.

Journey through Your Digestive System

Have you seen the animated film Osmosis Jones? It’s about a white blood cell named Osmosis Jones who is a police officer in Frank’s body. The story follows Osmosis, who is trying to track and hunt down Thrax — a very powerful virus who claims that “Ebola is a case of dandruff compared to me!” The movie showed a good picture of what it’s like to be in a person’s digestive system. We follow the journey of our food as it enters and eventually exits our body.

The journey starts when we eat our food. As we chew, our saliva breaks down the food to make it easier to swallow and pass through the esophagus. This long pipe makes sure that our food goes down to the stomach. It takes about two or three seconds for our food to pass through the esophagus and down to the stomach.

The stomach is the where all the food is broken down by digestive enzymes. The food is mashed and mixed with the stomach’s acid to kill germs and to allow a smooth transfer to the small intestine.
As the name implies, the small intestine is small in width, yet on average it is 22 feet long. Here, food is further broken down so that the body can absorb its nutrients. The liver filters out the bad stuff.
The large intestine is the last destination, where leftover food is separated as body waste.