Second primary tumours of the head and neck are not associated with adverse overall survival in oral sccs

Objective: Second primary tumours (SPT) have been implicated in the dismal overall survival (OS) of head and neck Squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). The incidence of SPT, the SPT diagnostic time-lag and the impact on OS were assessed. Subjects and methods: 363 consecutive patients treated for primary Oral SCC (1967-2004) were analyzed retrospectively in this study. 95.1% and 90.5% of patients reached a minimum follow-up period of 3 and 5 years respectively. Results: Of 363 patients; 68 (18.7%) were diagnosed with metachronous SPT, 49 (13.5%) developed upper aerodigestive tract (UAD)-SPT, 28 (7.7%) were diagnosed with HNSCC-SPT, and 21 (5.8%) developed lung or esophageal carcinoma. Patients with subsequent HNSCC-SPT had a better median survival during follow-up than those not diagnosed with SPTs (p=0.0018). The rate of mortality in these patients showed a substantial increase compared to patients with no subsequent SPT Diagnosis after 144 months. After 200 months the survival experience was no better than those without SPT. Conclusion: These results suggest a better OS for patients afflicted with HNSCC-SPT. This also reflects that at least some of the noted improved OS of HNSCC-SPT patients is due to a temporally cumulated risk associated of developing SPT.