EUROHELICAN

Leading partner: National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ)

Project partners: Community Healthcare Center dr. Adolf Drolc Maribor (ZD MB), University of Latvia Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine (LU), The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization IARC/(WHO), Nantes University Hospital (NANTES)

Funding:  European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) under the powers delegated by the European Commission

The general objective of the EUROHELICAN project is to assess the feasibility of population-based H. pylori test- and treat strategy for gastric cancer prevention in Europe. The EUROHELICAN project aims to contribute to the improvement and fostering of health in the European Union by contributing to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan’s objective to prevent gastric cancers caused by H. pylori infections.

EUROHELICAN’s objectives include:

1) demonstration of feasibility and acceptability of the proposed population-based H. pylori test- and treat strategy in a community health service setting,

2) evaluation of potential long-term adverse effects of the proposed strategy and

3) establishment of a set of minimum standards for the implementation and impact evaluation of the strategy that can be adopted in Europe and globally.

EUROHELICAN is organized in a total of six Work Packages with three of them representing the core tasks on the contents of the project:

Work Package 4: Gastric cancer prevention through H. pylori test- and treat strategy in Slovenia

(Lead Beneficiary: NIJZ)

Implementation of a population-based H. pylori test- and treat program in a young adult population in Slovenia to assess its program processes, feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness.

A total of 2,000 men and women aged between 30 and 34 will be recruited from various municipalities in the framework of a larger local primary care Community Health Centre Maribor as part of their preventive medical check-up for the general population for common risk factors. 

Study participants will be interviewed by a health professional and they will undergo a test for H. pylori infection with IgG serology. Those who will have positive antibodies will undergo a urea breath test (UDT). All those who will test positive for the infection will receive 14-day antibiotic treatment. Eradication rate will be controlled with UDT one month after the end of the treatment.

We expect to observe at least 30% participation in the program, 80% compliance with the 14-day H. pylori treatment, 85% H. pylori eradication rate and around 30% of mostly mild adverse events from the treatment of which none are serious adverse events.

Work Package 5: Long-term evaluation of the potential adverse effects of test- and treat strategy in Latvia

(Lead Beneficiary: LU)

We will evaluate the long-term effects of the strategy in middle-aged Latvians who were included in the GISTAR study an average of 10 years ago. The long-term effects of the H. pylori eradication will be investigated, by comparing the H. pylori positive groups having undergone H. pylori eradication or not at baseline of the GISTAR study. The third group will be residents included in the GISTAR survey, who were H. pylori negative at the time of inclusion.

The study subjects that were enrolled from 2013 (aged 40–64 at enrolment) will be invited to participate. The participants will be in an age range of 44-74 years. Five years will be the average follow-up period since the recruitment. Altogether 2,000 men and women will be recruited.

Work Package 6: Development of IARC Working Group Report on the implementation and evaluation of population-based H. pylori test- and treat strategy through an expert Working Group Meeting

Lead Beneficiary: International Agency for Research Cancer (IARC)

Based on the collected results, IARC will organize a meeting of an expert working group, which will have to prepare the guidelines for the implementation of the H. pylori test- and treat strategy with the aim of preventing gastric cancer in Europe and in the world.

In addition to the substantive core Work Packages described above, the EUROHELICAN project also has three Work Packages that ensure proper project management, namely:

Work Package 1: Coordination

Lead Beneficiary: NIJZ

As part of Work Package 1, management of the entire consortium, reporting to financiers on the progress of the project, preparation of substantive and financial reports, coordination and orientation at the strategic level of the project is carried out.

Work Package 2: Dissemination

Lead Beneficiary: NIJZ

NIJZ will disseminate the results of the project in both local and international contexts through a diverse range of communications tools, aimed at both the general public and professional audiences. A campaign at local level within Slovenia and Latvia will be carry out to recruit participants for the study and promote H. pylori screening for gastric cancer prevention.

Work Package 3: Evaluation

Lead Beneficiary: Nantes University Hospital

The outputs and results of the projects will be evaluated in line with the planned objectives and defined indicators. More specifically: evaluation of the study protocols, proposed for the field studies included in WP 4 and WP 5; following the progression of both field studies with providing a status update at interim, and discussing of possible problems, proposal of solutions and final evaluation of the results with respect to the initial objectives, practical implementation and further perspectives.

All materials will be published on the nijz.si website.

E-mail: eurohelican@nijz.si