Lung Cancer and Multiple Neoplasms: A Retrospective Analysis

Over the past 30 years there has been an increase in the survival of cancer patients resulting from the advances in cancer management and improved detection of cancer in its early stages. The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency of multiple malignancies in a sample of hospitalized patients in Poland. We analyzed retrospectively the records of 1112 cancer patients hospitalized in the period of January 2013 - August 2014. The criterion for inclusion into the group of multiple malignancy patients was the presence of at least two different malignancies. We found 52 cases in which lung cancer accompanied different malignancies and 4 cases where the multiple malignancy was not associated with the respiratory system. Lung cancer was chronologically the first malignancy unravelled in 11 patients, the second in 39, and the third in 2. Other malignancies chronologically being the first to be unravelled in patients included the following: colorectal cancer in 8 patients, prostatic cancer in 6, renal cell carcinoma 4, and the subsequent: prostate cancer 4, bladder cancer 3, hematopoietic malignancies 3, and breast cancer 2. We conclude that patients with multiple malignancy account for 5.0 % of lung cancer patients. Lung cancer is more frequent as a second malignancy developing in patients with multiple malignancy. Synchronous cancers become apparent at older age than metachronous cancers.