Patients who have higher levels of acid reflux where gastric juices flow back into the oesophagus, are more likely to develop cancer. New research by Lin and colleagues at University of Medicine, New Jersey, showed that the acidity may induce DNA damage by activating an enzyme - topoisomecase II - which is crucial in DNA replication.
Lin also found the presence of topo II molecules in other cancerous tissue, for example, in breast cancers. Acid alone may not be enough to cause carcinogenesis though.