Acid reflux linked to cancer in throat

DALLAS, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A U.S. study warns that preventing recurring acid reflux is critical because the acid can cause cells in the esophagus to become more prone to cancer.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center say the acid bath can cause normal cells in the esophagus to change into tougher, more acid-resistant cells, a condition called Barrett’s esophagus that results in cells becoming more at risk to cancer.

Researchers compared telomere length -- the ending sequences in DNA strands -- and telomerase activity -- an enzyme that adds specific DNA sequence repeats at the end of DNA strands -- in biopsy specimens from 38 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease and 16 control patients.

Each time the acid-bathed cells divide, the telomeres at the end of DNA become shorter and when they become too short, the cell can no longer divide and other cells might infiltrate the and those cells may be more likely to generate the acid-resistance that makes them more likely to turn cancerous, suggested the study published in the American Journal of Physiology -- Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.