SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Gastroenterology
Association of gastroesophageal reflux disease with the incidence of multiple cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Provisionally accepted
- The People's Hospital of Leshan, Leshan, China
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Objective: To investigate whether gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is associated with an increased incidence of multiple cancers through a robust meta-analysis. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for observational studies published up to July 11, 2025. All statistical analyses were performed using R version 4.5.0. Results: A total of 17 studies were included. The pooled results indicated that GERD was significantly associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.25–1.42), laryngeal cancer (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.38–2.21), pancreatic cancer (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.12–1.50), and esophageal cancer (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.12–2.57). However, no significant association was found between GERD and colorectal cancer (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.63–1.72). Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that GERD is associated with an increased incidence of multiple cancers. These findings will contribute to the clinical management of GERD patients, particularly in terms of cancer prevention and early screening.
Keywords: Cancer, Gastroesophageal reflux disease, Meta-analysis, risk, tumor
Received: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Jiang, Shao, Wang, Zhou, Zhu, Dan and Peng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yong Hong Wang
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