Testing for childhood stomach infection key to stopping cancer

Checkpoint · May 8, 2026 · 5m

Testing and treating children for a stomach infection in childhood is key to preventing a rise in stomach cancer diagnoses in adults, according to a new report. By 2045, it's expected 725 people will be diagnosed each year, that's a nearly 50 percent increase on the numbers now. Maori and Pacific people are up to six times more likely to get the cancer. But the study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal said there are opportunities to prevent it from developing with a relatively simple treatment for a stomach infection usually caught as a child. Dr Nina Bevin of the National Hauora…