Is Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Related to Helicobacter pylori?

Yan Huang; Min Gu; Qi Wu; Juanfen Zhu; Jian Wu; Peipei Wang; Meihua Wang; Judong Luo

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.790997

Is Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Related to Helicobacter pylori?

Front Oncol. 2022 Jan 28:12:790997. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.790997. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yan Huang^{1

2}, Min Gu³, Qi Wu⁴, Juanfen Zhu⁵, Jian Wu⁵, Peipei Wang³, Meihua Wang⁶, Judong Luo¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiotherapy, The Affiliated Changzhou No.2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China.
² Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
³ Department of Stomatology, Affiliated Third Hospital of Soochow University, The First People's Hospital of Changzhou City, Changzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Clinical Medicine, Heze Medical College, Heze, China.
⁵ Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Changzhou No.2 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China.
⁶ Department of Pathology, Changzhou Tumor Hospital, Affiliated to Soochow University, Changzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Laryngeal carcinoma is a primary malignant tumor originating from the laryngeal mucosa. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have confirmed that Helicobacter pylori may play a role in the occurrence and development of laryngeal cancer. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and emphasize the relationship between laryngeal cancer and Helicobacter pylori infection.

Methods: We actively searched for systematic reviews of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane libraries to select studies that met the recommended guidelines. A total of 1756 patients with laryngeal cancer were included in this study to assess the association of Helicobacter pylori in the larynx with laryngeal cancer. A subassessment of the risk of bias for each study that met the inclusion criteria was carried out. To illustrate the reasons for heterogeneity, we performed a subgroup analysis to determine the type of study, the quality of the article, the diagnostic method, and the impact of exposure factors.

Results: The meta-analysis included a total of 17 case-control studies on the association between Helicobacter pylori in the larynx and laryngeal cancer. Our meta-analysis showed that Helicobacter pylori infection in the larynx significantly increased the risk of malignant tumors in the larynx (odds ratio, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.83-4.78; P<0.00001; I^{2 =} 86%). They still existed when we controlled for patients' exposure to smoking factors (odds ratio, 3.86; 95% CI, 1.89-7.88).

Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis showed an association between Helicobacter pylori and laryngeal cancer. These findings are consistent with the understanding that chronic inflammatory tissue insult may lead to the development of malignancy. Controlling risk factors will help us identify patients with an increased risk of laryngeal cancer.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori; cancer; laryngeal malignancy; laryngopharyngeal reflux; prognosis.