People who have had all or part of their stomach removed appear to have an increased risk of later developing cancer of the larynx, doctors in Italy report. Therefore, “periodic laryngeal examination should be considered in long-term follow-up of patients with gastric surgery,” Dr. Giovanni Cammarota, at the Catholic University of Medicine and Surgery in Rome, and his associates write in the Annals of Surgery. Cammarota’s group previously reported a study showing a predisposition to laryngeal cancer in patients who had undergone gastric excision. They theorized that reflux of intestinal contents may damage the lining of the larynx, leading to malignancy.
