Incidence of second primary oral cancer tumors: a retrospective studyPURPOSE: Most head and neck malignant neoplasias are diagnosed in advanced stages. Another threatening element to the patients' survival chances and quality of life is the high risk of developing a second primary tumor (SPT). SPT significantly worsens prognosis, and for that reason patients must be monitored for early diagnosis. The main objective of this study was to analyze the occurrence of SPTs in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) treated in Erasto Gaertner Hospital (EGH), Curitiba, PR, Brazil, in a period of 16 years. METHODS: Design: retrospective study. The sample comprised patients with OSCC who developed SPT between January 1990 and December 2005. Demographic and clinical data were recorded form the patients' medical charts and analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: During this period, 34,637 patients were admitted at EGH. A total of 1,637 (4.4%) patients were diagnosed with OSCC, and 37 (2.7%) developed a SPT. Patients who developed SPT were 29 (78.4%) male and 8 (21.6%) female, with a median age of 58 years old. The most frequent anatomical SPT site was the mouth, oropharynx and oesophagus, with an overall survival of 27%. CONCLUSION: Patients treated from OSCC must be carefully monitored because of the increased risk of SPT, especially when there is a continuous history of tobacco and alcohol consumption.
Second primary tumor; squamous cell carcinoma; oral cancer; head and neck neoplasia
