Gastric reflux can reach the upper airway, inducing cellular damage in
the epithelial lining. This may be a risk factor for development of
laryngopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma although the medical literature is inconclusive.
Frequent heartburn caused by gastric reflux was found to
increase the risk for development of throat cancer, and over-the-counter
antacids medication may provide protection from it, according to a new study published in the journal of Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
Researchers from
Brown University studied heartburn incidence and medication use in 631 patients
with squamous cell cancers of the throat and vocal cords who were not heavy
smokers or drinkers, matching them with 1,234 healthy controls.
The investigator found that individuals
who had reported a history of frequent heartburn were 78% more likely to have
cancer than those who did not. Those with frequent heartburn who took antacids
reduced their risk for cancer by 41%, compared with those whose heartburn was not
treated.
There was no reduced risk among those
taking proton pump inhibitors (i. e., Prilosec,
Nexium, Prevacid, Aciphex) or histamine
H2 receptor antagonists (i.e., Pepcid,
Tagamet, Zantac). However, this may be because
those who took such medications were likely to have had severe acid reflux, and
not because those drugs are ineffective. The authors recommended that further studies are needed to clarify the
possible chemopreventive role of antacid use for patients with gastric reflux.
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