title: Multiple primary malignant tumours in patients with head and neck cancer: the implications for follow-up.
abstract: The pattern of second primary cancer occurrence in 518 Scottish patients with head and neck cancer was determined by a retrospective study. The overall incidence of second cancers was 9% but the true incidence increased steadily in the years following initial diagnosis to reach a maximum of 21% at 11 years. After 4 years of follow-up patients were more likely to die from a second primary cancer than from the effects of the initial tumour. The Scottish cohort differed from previously reported, overseas, study groups in having a high incidence of second primary cancers in sites outside the upper aerodigestive tract. This potential demographic difference suggests a need for local audit prior to design and implementation of screening protocols for second primary cancers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: McGarry
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Periasamy
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: McGurk
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gatehouse
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate