>Awhile back someone asked if Helicobacter mustelae has been linked with
>cancer in ferrets.  The answer is yes.  H.  mustelae has been linked with
>gastric adenocarcinoma and with gastric mucosa associated lymphoid tissue
>(MALT) lymphoma.  This is similiar to H.  pylori and cancer in people.  I
>have not seen anything suggesting it can cause cancer in the pancreas or
>anywhere else.
>Jerry Murray, DVM
 
The link between neoplasia and Helicobacter is tenuous at best.  While the
animals in these two reports had gastric neoplasms and Helicobacter, the
omnipresence of Helicobacter and the scarcity of gastric tumors do not
strongly endorse an association.
 
The report of MALT lymphoma in ferrets with Helicobacter was only in four
ferrets, and the connection with MALT lymphoma was only due to the B-cell
clonality of the neoplastic lymphocytes.  The phenotype of the cells ranged
markedly with three different types of lymphoma being represented overall,
and none of these neoplasms showed the antibiotic sensitivity documented
in human Helicobacter-related neoplasms.
 
The report of gastric adenocarcinoma was based on two ferrets, and
connection was made based on the identification of the bacteria in the
vicinity of the tumor - a tenuous link to be sure.
 
While I believe that the chronic inflammation caused by Helicobacter in
the ferret stomach may indeed be a trigger for generation of lymphoma, I
don't believe that either of these reports actually gives enough evidence
to support the connection between Helicobacter and gastric cancers at this
time.  We know that almost every ferret in North American has Helicobacter,
and gastric tumors represent less than 1% of all tumors in this species.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3479]