Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and multiple primary tumors of the upper aerodigestive tract.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is frequently associated with other, synchronous or metachronous tumors, in the upper aerodigestive tract. All 264 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, treated in the Gastrointestinal Surgery, Esophagus section, of the "Hospital das Clínicas" (São Paulo University Medical School, Brazil), between 1979 and 1989 were analyzed retrospectively with regards to the occurrence of multiple primary tumors in the upper aerodigestive tract. Multiple primary tumors were encountered in 10 (3.8%) patients. All patients were male and the mean age at the time of the first primary was 52.2 years. Tobacco smoke and alcohol were the principal carcinogens in these patients (n = 10). The sites of the tumors were: larynx (n = 4), tongue (n = 4), lung (n = 2), and oral cavity (n = 1). Two simultaneous, three synchronous and five metachronous multiple primary carcinomas were detected. The esophagus was the second primary tumor in nine patients. The mean overall survival after the diagnosis of the second primary was 2.8 months (SD = 0.89). Inquiry regarding other malignancies, associated with panendoscopy should be carry out prior to the treatment of the first primary to diagnose simultaneous or synchronous primary tumors, and careful follow-up should be performed after treatment of the first primary to detect new tumors in these high-risk patients.