Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and metachronous second primaries.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the rate of second (or more) primaries after treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and survival compared to patients with a single head and neck cancer. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A single-center retrospective study was performed in a University Hospital Center in 541 patients between 2002 and 2010. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-one patients (26.06%) presented 172 metachronous cancers. Overall 5-year survival was 20.3% with and 38.1% without metachronous cancer. Median and mean survival were respectively 21.9 and 51 months in patients with a single cancer, versus 13.9 and 26.5 months in case of metachronous cancer. Specific survival was comparable to overall survival. All-cause and specific survival were significantly poorer in metachronous cancer (P=0.001; log-rank α=0.05). CONCLUSION: At least a quarter of HNSCC patients go on to develop a metachronous second primary. These are of poor prognosis, whatever their location.