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. 2018 Oct;44(5):220-224.
doi: 10.5125/jkaoms.2018.44.5.220. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Metachronous second primary malignancy in head and neck cancer patients: is five years of follow-up sufficient?

Mohammad Adeel  1 , Moghira Iqbal Siddiqi  2
Affiliations

Metachronous second primary malignancy in head and neck cancer patients: is five years of follow-up sufficient?

Mohammad Adeel et al. J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and characteristics of second primary malignancy (SPM) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated at a tertiary care hospital.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 221 patients who underwent surgery with or without adjuvant treatment for head and neck cancer from 2000 to 2002. Data of age, sex, risk factors, sites of primary and SPM, TNM stage of primary tumor, incidence of SPM, and survival were collected from medical charts.

Results: Eighteen patients developed SPM during a median follow-up of 67 months, with an overall incidence of 8.14%. In addition, 77.7% of SPMs occurred in the oral cavity, followed by 11% in the lungs. The 5-year overall survival after the diagnosis of SPM in the head or neck was 70%, compared to 30% for SPM in other body regions.

Conclusion: Considering a high incidence of SPM, i.e., 8.14%, in a mean follow-up period of 67 months suggests the need for long-term follow-up. Since treatment of SPM has shown an acceptable survival rate, early detection and curative therapy should be emphasized.

Keywords: Second primary malignancy; Survival rate; Survivorship.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Survival functions. (SPM: second primary malignancy)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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