Association of gastroesophageal reflux disease and laryngeal cancer.

OBJECTIVE

Studies examining the association of reflux disease with the risk of developing laryngeal cancer have both proven and disproven the null hypothesis.

METHODS

This retrospective case-control study examines the association of reflux in two populations exposed to similar risk factors, including tobacco, to the extent that end-organ malignant transformation has occurred. After IRB approval was obtained, a search of our hospital's cancer center's database was performed from 2000 to 2013. A retrospective chart review was then performed and the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease among patients with laryngeal cancer ( = 290) was determined. It was then compared to the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease among patients presenting with lung cancer ( = 2440) during the same time period. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine the association of reflux with laryngeal cancer.

RESULTS

Taking into consideration tobacco use, there was a strong association between male gender and occurrence of laryngeal cancer as opposed to lung cancer ( = 3.30; 95% 2.53-4.36,  < 0.001). There was a modest association between reflux and laryngeal cancer ( = 1.65; 95% 1.19-2.25,  = 0.003). However, there was no association between reflux and the propensity for carcinoma in specific laryngeal subsites ( = 0.47).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study examining a heterogeneous population with end-organ malignancy there was a modest association between reflux and laryngeal cancer. Further research is necessary to determine the biologic relevance of this finding.