The effect of intra-gastric acidity and flora on the concentration of N-nitroso compounds in the stomach

Abstract

A two-week increase in gastric pH in healthy, H. pylori-negative subjects was associated with increased intra-gastric concentrations of nitrate-reducing bacteria but not of nitrites or N-nitroso compounds. These data suggest that reduced gastric acid secretion is not a necessary precursor to the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds and that other mechanisms should be invoked to explain gastric carcinogenesis.