Gastric polyps may disappear after treatment for Helicobacter pylori, according to a study. These small growths on the stomach lining can cause stomach pain and bleeding, and may become malignant. Endoscopic removal is recommended, but the new findings indicate that this should be attempted after treatment for H. pylori, which may lead to the disappearance of many of these polyps.

Drugs used to eradicate H. pylori caused polyps to disappear in 71% of patients with such polyps within 12 to 15 months. These results strongly suggest that eradication of H. pylori leads to regression and disappearance of hyperplastic gastric polyps.

Annals of Internal Medicine November 1, 1998;129:712-715.

COMMENT: It seems this bug (H. pylori) is associated with more and more complications: ulcers, cancer and now polyps which are a precursor of cancer. It is a sad commentary on traditional medicine's insistence on a drug based model that causes it to ignore the simple treatment of 12 glasses of water per day as a far more effective and less expensive option than drugs to eradicate this organism.