Gastroesophageal reflux disease and risk of cancer: Findings from the Korean National Health Screening Cohort

Chi Lan Tran; Minji Han; Byungmi Kim; Eun Young Park; Young Il Kim; Jin-Kyoung Oh

doi:10.1002/cam4.6500

Gastroesophageal reflux disease and risk of cancer: Findings from the Korean National Health Screening Cohort

Cancer Med. 2023 Sep;12(18):19163-19173. doi: 10.1002/cam4.6500. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Authors

Chi Lan Tran¹, Minji Han^{1

2

3}, Byungmi Kim², Eun Young Park⁴, Young Il Kim⁵, Jin-Kyoung Oh^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cancer Control and Population Health, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
² Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Health Science and Technology, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Center for Gastric Cancer, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Aim: Little is known about the association of cancers other than esophageal adenocarcinoma with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This study aimed to examine the association between GERD and the risk of different types of cancer.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data from the National Health Screening Cohort. We included 10,261 GERD patients and 30,783 non-GERD individuals who were matched in a 1:3 ratio by age and sex. All participants were followed-up until cancer diagnosis, death, or end of the study (December 31, 2015). Hazard ratios were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for smoking and alcohol consumption, physical activity, body mass index, income, area, and Charlson Comorbidity Index.

Results: The median follow-up time was 9.9 years. GERD was associated with an increased risk of esophageal (adjusted hazard ratios [aHR] = 3.20 [1.89-5.41]), laryngeal (aHR = 5.42 [2.68-10.96]), and thyroid cancers (aHR = 1.91 [1.55-2.34]) after controlling for all covariates. The results were consistent when examining GERD with esophagitis (K210) and without esophagitis (K219) separately. For thyroid cancer, the results were insignificant after controlling for having ever-received thyroid biopsy procedures. A dose-response relationship was found between GERD and esophageal cancer as well as laryngeal cancer, with patients with a longer duration of GERD treatment showing a stronger effect. In contrast, GERD was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal (aHR = 0.73 [0.59-0.90]), liver (aHR = 0.67 [0.51-0.89]), and pancreatic cancers (aHR = 0.43 [0.24-0.76]), which might have resulted from differences in healthcare utilization between GERD and non-GERD groups.

Conclusion: GERD was associated with an increased risk of esophageal and laryngeal cancers. Additionally, early detection and treatment of precancerous lesions among the GERD group could lead to a lower risk of colorectal, liver, and pancreatic cancers.

Keywords: cancer risk; cohort; gastroesophageal reflux disease; laryngeal cancer.

Abstract

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