Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the association between laryngeal carcinoma and laryngopharyngeal reflux.
Methods: This was a case-control study with 31 laryngeal cancer patients who had undergone 24-hour ambulatory double pH monitoring and 76 in the control group which were divided into negative group (36 patients) and positive group (40 patients) by the score of RSI (reflux symptom index) and RFI (reflux findings index) scale. The results of reflux and parameters of 24-hour ambulatory double pH monitoring among the three groups were statistically analysed.
Results: The smoking rate of 80.6% (25/31) in laryngeal carcinoma group was significantly higher than that of (36.1%, P < 0.0167) in the negative group while it did not vary in laryngeal carcinoma group and the positive group (65.0%, P > 0.0167). The drinking rate of 71.0% (22/31) in laryngeal carcinoma group was higher than that of (36.1%, P < 0.0167) in the negative group whereas there was no significant difference between laryngeal carcinoma group and positive group (50.0%, P > 0.0167). The positive rate of laryngopharyngeal reflux in laryngeal carcinoma group, the positive group, the negative group were 74.2% (23/31), 16.7% (6/36) and 52.5% (21/40) respectively, which was significantly different (P < 0.05). The positive rate of gastroesophageal reflux in the three groups above were 71.0% (22/31), 52.8% (19/36) and 75.0% (30/40), which had no significant difference (P > 0.05). The positive rate of laryngopharyngeal reflux differed in laryngeal carcinoma group and the negative group (P < 0.0167) while did not differ in laryngeal carcinoma group and the positive group (P > 0.0167). In the results of 24-hour ambulatory double pH monitoring, there was significant difference in the total and upright reflux number, the total reflux time, the percent times for the pH falling below 4, total reflux number which lasted more than 5 minutes and DeMeester Scores.
Conclusions: The positive rate of laryngopharyngeal reflux in laryngeal carcinoma group was very high while the drinking and smoking rate were also high. Therefore whether the laryngopharyngeal reflux is a risk factor of the laryngeal carcinoma, it needs further research.