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Updated: May 2, 2026

Next Generation Sequencing for the Detection of Actionable Mutations in Solid and Liquid Tumors
Published on: September 20, 2016
Characteristics of lung cancer after a previous malignancy
Niels Reinmuth1, Patrick Stumpf2, Andreas Stumpf2
1Department of Thoracic Oncology, Thoraxklinik at the University of Heidelberg, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany; Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg, German Center for Lung Research, Germany.
Background:
In the era of improving overall survival rates of malignant diseases, the impact of a previous malignancy (PM) on treatment and outcome of lung cancer (LC) remains unclear.
Methods:
We reviewed all LC patients from our institution that were treated from 2004 to 2006 for the occurrence of LC with PM excluding patients with multiple primary LC.
Results:
A total of 444 and 2698 LC patients with and without a history of a PM were identified (prevalence of 14.1%). PM were most often located in breast (15.5%), prostate (14.9%), bladder (9.0%) and kidney (8.8%). Compared to never smokers, patients with nicotine consumption had more often a cancer history of prostate, gastrointestinal, and the head-neck region. The median interval until diagnosis of LC was 72.2 months (range 0-537 months) with most LC diagnosed 5 years after PM diagnosis. With a similar distribution of histology, stage and localization compared to controls, NSCLC patients with PM and stage IV disease showed a favorable overall survival (p < 0.0001). In contrast, SCLC patients had similar survival curves (n.s.).
Conclusions:
A considerable subgroup of LC patients has a history of PM that may indicate a favorable prognostic factor. However, these patients should be treated similar to other LC patients.
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