Lack of serologic evidence for Helicobacter pylori infection in head and neck cancer.

Abstract

Several epidemiologic investigations have established a link between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric malignancies. Because the stomach is in continuity with the oral cavity and the bacterium has been isolated from dental plaque and saliva, we hypothesized that H. pylori infection of the upper aerodigestive tract might result in mucosal disruption, allowing for subsequent transformation by known carcinogens such as tobacco and alcohol. To test this hypothesis, we assayed for the presence of IgG antibodies to H. pylori in the serum of 21 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and 21 matched controls without a history of head and neck cancer. The incidence of seropositivity in the SCCHN patients was 57% and in the controls, 62% (p > 0.05). These data do not support an etiologic role for H. pylori infection in head and neck cancer.