Duodenoesophageal reflux induces esophageal adenocarcinoma without exogenous carcinogen

In the rat model, esophageal adenocarcinoma reproducibly develops following surgically induced duodenal reflux into the esophagus and administration of nitrosamine. In addition, decreasing gastric acid via partial or total gastrectomy increases the prevalence of adenocarcinoma in this model. We questioned whether carcinogen was necessary for cancer development in the gastrectomized model and whether esophageal acidification could reverse the effect of gastrectomy. Three groups of 26 rats each were randomized to a surgical procedure to produce one of the following reflux models: gastroduodenal reflux by esophagojejunostomy, duodenal reflux by total gastrectomy and esophagojejunostomy, or no reflux by Roux-en-Y reconstruction. In a second experiment, 42 rats were operated on to induce duodenal reflux. One week following surgery, they were randomized to receive acidified water (pH 1.8) or tap water. The animals were killed at 24 weeks of age, and the esophagus was evaluated histologically. All animals with reflux had severe esophagitis and 87% developed columnar lining of the distal esophagus. Nearly half (48%) developed adenocarcinoma at the anastomotic site 16 weeks postoperatively and without carcinogen administration. Cancer prevalence did not differ between animals with gastroduodenal or duodenal reflux but tended to be lower in animals receiving acidified water. Duodenoesophageal reflux is carcinogenic in the rat model. Exogenous carcinogen is not necessary for cancer development in gastrectomized rats.