اعلام University of Babylon | PhD Dissertation at the College of Medicine, University of Babylon on Gastric Cancer

اعلام University of Babylon - كلية الادارة والاقتصاد

PhD Dissertation at the College of Medicine, University of Babylon on Gastric Cancer

By : Zaynab Kadhim Ameen Awadh

Date : 31/8/2025 53:21:10 AM

PhD Dissertation at the College of Medicine, University of Babylon on Gastric Cancer
The Department of Microbiology at the College of Medicine, University of Babylon discussed the PhD dissertation of student Jihad Nazem Abd, entitled:
“Genetic Diversity and Immunological Study of Gastric Cancer Associated with Helicobacter pylori,”
supervised by Professor Dr. Lamees Abdul Razzaq and Professor Dr. Muhannad Abbass Al-Shalah.
The defense was attended by the Associate Dean for Scientific Affairs, Assistant Professor Dr. Ashraf Mohammed Ali Hussein, along with a number of faculty members, academics, and postgraduate students.
During his defense, the researcher explained that gastric cancer is among the most common malignancies worldwide and is closely linked to chronic infection with H. pylori, which has been classified by the World Health Organization as a Group I carcinogen.
The researcher employed molecular diagnostic techniques (PCR), large-scale genetic analysis (SNP Microarray) — marking the first study in Iraq to use this advanced technique — in addition to DNA methylation analysis (MS-HRM) for five of the most important tumor suppressor genes.
The findings revealed a significant association between H. pylori infection and gastric cancer (22.6% of cancer samples vs. 0% in controls). Genetic analysis uncovered more than 770,000 genetic variants, including notable mutations in immune-related genes such as HLA, TLRs, NLRs, as well as tumor suppressor genes including BRCA1/2, APC, CDH1, RUNX3. Microarray results demonstrated large-scale chromosomal alterations, with clear gains and losses in regions carrying key immune and cancer-related genes. Pathogenicity prediction analyses confirmed that many of these variants could disrupt protein function, highlighting their clinical relevance as potential biomarkers for gastric cancer diagnosis and monitoring.
Additionally, methylation of the CDH1 and RNF180 genes showed a clear association with infection, making them promising markers for early detection and patient follow-up.
This study demonstrates that H. pylori infection is not limited to acting as a trigger of chronic inflammation but also serves as a fundamental driver of genetic and epigenetic alterations that contribute to the initiation and progression of gastric cancer. The findings open avenues for developing novel biomarkers that could be adopted in early diagnosis and targeted therapy of this cancer.