Chronic heartburn, also known as acid reflux disease, may not be a significant cause of esophageal cancer in middle-aged people as it was previously thought, a recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology has found.
According to HealthDay, citing the study, data from a nationwide cancer registry was analyzed for occurrences of EAC (esophageal adenocarcinoma, or esophageal cancer) and their connection with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux disease) symptoms.
Researchers found that the correlation rate was low among middle-aged men and women: for example, only 1 in 100,000 American men in their 30s who have GERD symptoms also have esophageal cancer.
A commonly held belief in the medical community has been that acid reflux disease, which is triggered by stomach acid buildup in the esophagus and most commonly causes heartburn, is a significant risk factor for contracting EAC. The study finds little support for that claim.
“[Esophageal cancer] is a rare cancer,” Dr. Joel H. Rubenstein, a professor of medicine at the University of Michigan and lead author of the study, told HealthDay. “About 1 in 4 people have symptoms of [acid reflux disease] ... but 25 percent of people aren’t going to get this cancer. No way.”
Due to the low incidence rates between GERD and esophageal cancer, the paper also noted that screening for cancer of the esophagus in GERD patients may be unnecessary among women and middle-aged men.
However, “in white men with weekly GERD, over the age of 60 years, the incidence of EAC is substantial and might warrant screening if that practice is particularly accurate, safe, effective, and inexpensive,” the study said.
Esophageal cancer is relatively rare in the United States, inflicting about 16,000 Americans in 2010, but the disease is deadly, with a survival rate of about 15 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute.
According to HealthDay, citing the study, data from a nationwide cancer registry was analyzed for occurrences of EAC (esophageal adenocarcinoma, or esophageal cancer) and their connection with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux disease) symptoms.
Researchers found that the correlation rate was low among middle-aged men and women: for example, only 1 in 100,000 American men in their 30s who have GERD symptoms also have esophageal cancer.
A commonly held belief in the medical community has been that acid reflux disease, which is triggered by stomach acid buildup in the esophagus and most commonly causes heartburn, is a significant risk factor for contracting EAC. The study finds little support for that claim.
“[Esophageal cancer] is a rare cancer,” Dr. Joel H. Rubenstein, a professor of medicine at the University of Michigan and lead author of the study, told HealthDay. “About 1 in 4 people have symptoms of [acid reflux disease] ... but 25 percent of people aren’t going to get this cancer. No way.”
Due to the low incidence rates between GERD and esophageal cancer, the paper also noted that screening for cancer of the esophagus in GERD patients may be unnecessary among women and middle-aged men.
However, “in white men with weekly GERD, over the age of 60 years, the incidence of EAC is substantial and might warrant screening if that practice is particularly accurate, safe, effective, and inexpensive,” the study said.
Esophageal cancer is relatively rare in the United States, inflicting about 16,000 Americans in 2010, but the disease is deadly, with a survival rate of about 15 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute.
