Possible Association of Helicobacter pylori Infection with Laryngeal Cancer Risk: An Evidence-based Meta-analysis

BackgroundInfection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a major cause of various gastric diseases and has been reported to play a role in the process of tumorigenesis and progression of gastric carcinoma. However, whether H. pylori infection increases susceptibilities to other cancers is not fully understood. Several studies have been devoted to the relationship between H. pylori infection and laryngeal cancer risk and have yielded conflicting results. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the possible association of H. pylori infection with laryngeal cancer risk.MethodsThe associated literature was acquired through deliberate searching and selected based on the established inclusion criteria for publications. Extracted data were further analyzed by a systematic meta-analysis.ResultsA total of 15 papers were identified. Of these, five case−control studies were selected. Laryngeal cancer risk for H. pylori infection was 2.03-fold (95% CI = 1.28–3.23) (Z = 3.00, p <0.01) compared with the controls.ConclusionsThe pooled data suggest infection with H. pylori as a possible risk factor for laryngeal cancer.