Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the
backflow of stomach contents into the esophagus.
GERD may be physiologic, occurring up to 50 times
a day, usually after meals. The reflux causes detrimental
effects via both direct contract and vagal
reflexes [2]. Several life-threatening conditions such
as head and neck cancer, asthma, sleep apnea,
narrowing of the respiratory tract below the vocal
folds, and involuntary forceful adduction of the vocal
folds follow GERD [3]. GERD is strongly associated
with adenocarcinoma of esophagus. As the esophagus
and larynx are located adjacent to each other anatomically,
studies have investigated the role of GERD in
carcinoma of the larynx and pharynx. However, a few
studies do not support the hypothesis that GERD (or
laryngopharyngeal reflux, LPR) is an independent risk
factor in the development of laryngeal cancer [4–8].
Other studies arrived at an opposite conclusion
[9–17]. In this meta-analysis, we summarize evidence
from published articles discussing the association
between GERD and cancers of the larynx and
pharynx