RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible role of Helicobacter pylori as a cause of squamous cell carcinoma of larynx in a case-control study in an otolaryngology ward at an academic university. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 65 patients with laryngeal cancer and 65 matched cancer-free controls underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and biopsy of antral and body regions of the stomach for evaluation of Helicobacter pylori infection. RESULTS: The proportion of subjects with a positive rapid urease test for gastric infection was similar between the two groups (49.2 % in cases vs. 40% in controls). However, a positive rapid urease test for body was less frequently seen in patients with laryngeal cancer whereas a positive rapid urease test for antrum was significantly higher (P=0.04). CONCLUSION: Our study failed to show Helicobacter pylori as one of the etiologies of laryngeal cancer. However, it supported the hypothesis that colonization of Helicobacter pylori only in the gastric body might have a protective effect against laryngeal cancer with decreasing gastric acid while antral Helicobacter pylori, increasing gastric acid due to G cell hyperplasia, may be a predisposing factor for laryngeal cancer, with acid reflux as a possible underlying etiology.
