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Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2006 October; 26(5): 260–263. Laryngeal carcinoma and laryngo-pharyngeal reflux disease J Galli, G Cammarota,1 M Volante, E De Corso, G Almadori, and G Paludetti ENT Department, “A. Gemelli” Polyclinic, Catholic University, Rome 1Medicine Department, “A. Gemelli” Polyclinic, Catholic University, Rome, Italy Address for correspondence: Dr. J. Galli Istituto di Clinica ORL, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Roma, Italy Summary A correlation between laryngo-pharyngeal reflux and laryngeal carcinoma is currently debated. Chronic inflammation is a mutagen factor confirmed in the cancerogenesis of various tumours. Aim of the present study was to evaluate, in an objective and consecutive way, with 24h multi-electrode pH-metry the presence of proximal and distal oesophageal reflux in patients presenting pre-cancerosis or squamous cell laryngeal and/or pharyngeal carcinomas. From our data, a strict correlation emerged between laryngo-pharyngeal reflux and neoplasias of the upper aiways, documented through multi-electrode pH-metry. Data emerging from this study would seem to support the theory that the protracted exposure ( 20 years) to biliary reflux would represent a statistically significant added risk factor in the precancerous lesions and squamous pharyngo-laryngeal carcinoma as it occurs at oesophageal level. Moreover, a significant statistical association (p 0.0001) emerged between laryngeal carcinoma and previous gastro-resection (odds ratio 3.8). Keywords: Acid and biliary reflux, Gastro-resection, Laryngeal carcinoma Introduction Although widely studied in the literature, particularly throughout the last 10 years, the possible correlation between laryngo-pharyngeal reflux (LPR) and laryngeal carcinoma is currently debated. In fact, although the high presence of LPR in patients affected by laryngeal carcinoma (between 68% 1 and 87% 2 in the world literature), the complex multi-factoriality of neo