Sasaki CT, et al. - Since the tumorigenic potential of bile on laryngopharyngeal mucosa is strongly supported in recent preclinical studies, researchers report NF-κB–associated messenger RNA and microRNA oncogenic phenotypes, similar to those previously found in acidic bile–exposed premalignant murine hypopharyngeal mucosa, in bile-related human hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC) in this pilot study. In bile(+) [cases with documented biliary laryngopharyngeal reflux] HSCCs vs their adjacent normal tissues and bile(-) [controls without signs of bile reflux disease] tumors, they found > 260-fold and > 30-fold higher miR-21/miR-375 ratio, which earlier has been related to tumor aggressiveness. According to novel findings generated in this study, independent risk for hypopharyngeal carcinogenesis may be conferred by a history of bile as a part of esophageal reflux disease.