[Surgical treatment of associated bronchial, upper respiratory and digestive tract cancers]

Between 1980 and 1987, 63 lung cancers associated with upper aero-digestive tract carcinomas were operated on 50% of the primary malignancies of the upper aero-digestive system were laryngeal. These tumors developed synchronously in 13% and metachronously in 87%. The operative mortality rate was 3%. The five years survival rate was 30%. Our results were found identical to those observed in a single lung cancer series. Coin lesion of the lung should be therefore considered as a second primary cancer. Thus, the best treatment is surgical resection. When the option exist, the lung cancer should be treated before the upper airway cancer to avoid the impact of previous irradiation and/or surgical treatment of the upper airway cancer upon the post-thoracotomy management.