The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in malignant and premalignant conditions of the head and neck

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori is an accepted cause of chronic active gastritis and has a major causative role in peptic ulceration. It is a gastric carcinogen. Its role in non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) is less clear; yet 50 per cent of patients with NUD are infected with H pylori. H pylori has been investigated in several other organ systems, but has not been investigated extensively in squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract, a region which could be directly exposed to the bacterium by gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR).In this study 61 patients with severe laryngeal dysplasia or frank carcinoma of the head and neck are striated by age, investigated for the presence of antibodies to H pylori and compared to age and sex matched controls.In the age group of 46–61 years, the presence of H pylori antibodies was marginally greater in the experimental (63.0 per cent) than the control group (40.7 per cent) (Pearson Chi square p = 0.055, Fisher 2-sided exact test p= 0.066). When combining this age group with the younger age group and thereby creating two roughly equal groups (n = 31 and n = 30) there was also a statistical trend towards increased positivity in the experimental group. These findings are discussed in the light of other studies with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).