Malignant Multiple Neoplasms in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Introduction: The incidence of multiple malignant neoplasms in the upper aerodigestive tract is high and ranges from 7% to 20%. We make a retrospective study to evaluate the incidence of multiple malignant neoplasms in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, their main characteristics and survival. Material and method: We studied 103 multiple malignant neoplasms from an oncological database of 1330 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. We use the SPSS v15 for analysis of the results. Results: The incidence of multiple malignant neoplasms in our series is 7.73 %. Tumours of the hypopharynx are the primary tumours most often associated with multiple malignant neoplasms (21.34 %), followed by tumours of the oropharynx (15.38 %). Lung tumours are the multiple malignant neoplasms most often associated (29.03 %). The 5- year global survival is 33 % from diagnosis of the second primary tumour, 78.02 % of which are metachronous with an average of 40 months between the diagnosis of the primary tumour and the presentation of the second tumour. Conclusions: Multiple malignant neoplasms are very frequent in the head and neck area which shows the importance of thorough regular check- ups of these patients as the presence of multiple malignant neoplasms considerably worsens the prognosis.