Second, third, and fourth head and neck tumors. A progressive decrease in survival.
BACKGROUND
Patients with a first head and neck carcinoma have a high risk of successive neoplasms, many of which appear again in the head and neck. Second head and neck tumors have a poorer prognosis than first tumors, but data about the prognosis of third and fourth tumors in the head and neck are lacking.


METHODS
We carried out a retrospective study of 4298 patients with a primary head and neck carcinoma. Survival and the characteristics of the first tumor, second tumor, and any successive tumors in the head and neck were analyzed.


RESULTS
Second and successive tumors showed a tendency to appear more frequently in the oral cavity and oropharynx and had a lower stage than that of index tumors. Five-year survival rates after a first, second, third, and fourth tumors in the head and neck were 67.6%, 56.1%, 45.0%, and 32.1%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Survival decreased progressively with every new head and neck tumor.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques Sant Pau, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain. xleon@santpau.cat
Xavier
X
León
Vicenç
V
Martínez
Montserrat
M
López
Jacinto
J
García
María del Prado
Mdel P
Venegas
Eduard
E
Esteller
Miquel
M
Quer
D000368:Aged; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies