title: Multiple primary epidermoid carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract.
abstract: In a series of 405 patients with epidermoid carcinoma of the head and neck, 52 patients (13%) developed multiple epidermoid carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract. Subsequent primary tumors developed with nearly equal frequency in the head and neck, lung, and esophagus. Forty of the patients developed a subsequent primary carcinoma within five years of the first. Thirty-eight (73%) of the patients who developed a subsequent primary carcinoma survived less than two years from its diagnosis. The majority (34/50) of the patients died from the subsequent primary carcinoma. We recommend that panendoscopy and an esophagogram be performed on initial evaluation of patients with head and neck cancer. A thorough reexamination is warranted if new symptoms or signs develop.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors