Is gastroesophageal reflux disease a risk factor for laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer?
Among US veterans, the risk for laryngeal or pharyngeal cancers is modestly increased in the presence of GERD. This effect seems to be independent of age, gender, smoking, and alcohol intake.
Ligand-independent activation of c-Met contributes specifically to erlotinib resistance, not cetuximab resistance, in HNSCC with activated c-Src, where c-Met activation is more dependent on c-Src than on EGFR, providing an alternate survival pathway. Addition of a c-Met or c-Src inhibitor to erlotinib may increase efficacy of EGFR inhibition in patients with activated c-Src.