Screening for second primary lung cancer after treatment of laryngeal cancer

As a result of smoking, patients who have received curative treatment for laryngeal cancer run a high risk of developing lung cancer. Therefore, these patients enter a screening program that aims to detect lung cancer at an asymptomatic stage. The study evaluated whether screening for lung cancer by means of regular chest x-ray examinations contributed to prolonging survival.

A longitudinal follow-up study was performed to analyze the survival of patients who had received curative treatment for squamous cell laryngeal cancer and developed lung cancer during the follow-up period.

Patients with lung cancer were divided into two groups: 1) patients with asymptomatic screen-detected lung cancer and 2) patients with complaints indicating lung cancer, whose tumor was detected in the interval between screening examinations by chest x-ray films.

In the complete group of patients with laryngeal cancer, no prognostic factors could be identified for developing lung cancer. There was no prolongation of survival in the screen-detected asymptomatic lung cancer patients. The median survival of both groups was 56 months (P =.57). The date of detection of the lung cancer was clearly brought forward by screening; a difference of 8 months was found between the median detection date of the two groups (P <.001). There was no difference in tumor-specific mortality between the two groups.

Screening by chest x-ray examination to detect lung cancer in an asymptomatic stage after curative treatment for squamous cell laryngeal cancer does not improve survival for patients who develop lung cancer.