Abstract
From March 3 to 6, 2002, Helicobacter enthusiasts gathered in Perth, Australia for the Fourth Western Pacific Helicobacter Congress to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the modern discovery of this organism by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren. The meeting included state-of-the-art lectures highlighting the breakthroughs that have occurred since the discovery of this bacterium. As well, advances from the forefront of current Helicobacter pylori research were presented, particularly in the realm of genomics and molecular biology. A symposium about vaccines and trends for future H pylori research completed this congress. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the highlights from this conference, emphasizing new advances.