S100A8 and gastritis: Chronic atrophic gastritis is the earliest pathologic change due to H. pylori colonization, and it may eventually lead to gastric cancer.2, 13, 19, 20 In H. pylori-infected individuals, other factors contributing to chronic atrophic gastritis and cancer include the age at the time of primary infection, as well as the presence of cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA)-positive H. pylori.21 The prevalence of H. pylori infection increases with age, being close to 80% among individuals above 70, whereas it is around 50% in children.20,22,23