Gastroesophageal acid reflux disease is abnormally associated with cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract in the elderly.
Cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract (ENT cancers) represent more than 360,000 deaths worldwide each year. These cancers are thought to be caused by a variety of factors, including chronic inflammation of the lining of the mouth, throat, and where the respiratory and digestive tracts meet.
Studies examining a link between the inflammatory state of the oropharyngeal mucosa caused by gastroesophageal reflux and the development of cancer in the upper aero-digestive tract have given conflicting results. A new very large study, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, found a link in the elderly.
An association to be confirmed
A total of 13,805 patients suffering from cancer of the upper aero-digestive tract and 13,805 people without cancer were compared. In practice, acid reflux is associated more often than chance with cancer of the upper aero-digestive tract, particularly in the elderly.
This association requires further study to determine the exact causation and possibly identify a population at risk so that surveillance can be put in place and treatment can be initiated earlier. It is difficult to be completely positive because data on smoking and alcohol consumption, which are the best established risk factors for this type of cancer, have not been taken into account.
In fact, in the database from which the statistics are taken, the diagnoses are based on codes used for billing purposes, rather than on codes for clinical purposes.
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