If You Have Acid Reflux You’re Twice As Likely To Get Cancer of The Esophagus, Research Shows

 

"This study doesn't suggest that if you have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) you need preventive screenings for laryngeal or esophageal cancer, but it does suggest that if you have GERD and develop symptoms of these cancers, such as hoarseness, a change in your voice, difficulty or pain swallowing, an unexplained ear ache, or breathing trouble, you should get it checked out because your GERD may be a risk factor for these types of cancers," Dr. Theodoros Teknos, president and scientific director of UH Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, OH, tells SurvivorNet. Dr. Teknos specializes in head and neck cancers.

How Do I Know If I Have Reflux?

Acid reflux is when stomach acid makes its way back up towards your mouth through your esophagus the tube that connects your mouth and stomach. It can cause heartburn, chest pain, regurgitation of food or liquid, and a feeling of a lump in your throat.

When these symptoms are frequent, you should see a doctor who can diagnose the condition and prescribe medication.

Reflux Might Raise Risk for Certain Cancers

Here's what the study found about the possible connection between reflux and certain cancers.

Researchers followed nearly 500,000 older adults ages 50 to 71 for about 15 years. Those who had acid reflux were up to two times more likely to develop certain cancers of the larynx and esophagus than people who didn't have reflux. The study concluded that in the general population, about 17 percent of these cancers may be linked to reflux.

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Why might this be?

When you have acid reflux, stomach acid can make its way up into your esophagus. When your saliva, which has a high nitrate content, meets with these acidic gastric juices, it may cause a chemical reaction that creates substances, including nitrous acid and nitrous oxide, which could raise risk for cancer formation, Dr. Maie St. John, Chair of Head and Neck Surgery and Co-Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Program at UCLA Health, explains to SurvivorNet.

I Have Reflux What Should I Do?

"We do not want anyone to read a study like this and just panic," St. John says.

There's a few important things to understand about this study. First, even among those who had reflux, cancer rates were not especially high. And, GERD didn’t cause cancer. It just seems to be a risk factor.

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Another important fact is that the researchers had to infer that certain people in the database had reflux. Here's what that means. The researchers didn't have confirmation of an official diagnosis of GERD. Instead, they had insurance claims that were highly suggestive of the condition but not necessarily a confirmed diagnosis. So, the number of reflux cases could be over-counted or undercounted.

That said, according to Teknos, the presumed reflux cases in the database aligned well with prevalence of the condition in the population at large.

This study doesn't suggest that people who have reflux need any type of preventive screenings for esophageal and laryngeal cancers. It only suggests that it may be reasonable to add GERD to the list of known risk factors for these cancers.

Some of those risk factors include but are not limited to:

• Smoking
• Obesity
• Heavy drinking
• A diet lacking in fruits and vegetables
• HPV (human papillomavirus)

And, for esophageal cancer, precancerous changes in the cells of the esophagus a condition called Barrett's esophagus are also a risk factor.

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"The take-home message is that if you have reflux, and it's persistent, let your doctor know," St. John says. "Continuous GERD symptoms may lead to dysplasia or other changes. Based on your symptoms, you might be recommended to see an otolaryngologist or a GI specialist."

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