Second primary colorectal cancer among endometrial cancer survivor: shared etiology and treatment sequelae

To evaluate the incidence of colon cancer as a second primary cancer (CCSPC) and the survival outcomes of women with and without CCSPC after the diagnosis of endometrial cancer (EC).

The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of CCSPC and survival outcomes of EC survivors with and without CCSPC were analyzed using data from January 1 1993 to December 31 2011, obtained from the Korea Central Cancer Registry.

Of 14,797 EC survivors, 147 (0.99%) developed CCSPC after an average interval of 5.5 years. The SIR of CCSPC among EC survivors was 2.56, higher than that of colon cancer in the general population. The SIR of CCSPC was highest for the ascending (3.77), followed by the transverse (3.45), descending colon (2.06), and rectum (1.99). The risk of a proximal site of CCSPC was high, especially within 5 years after the diagnosis of EC in the ascending (SIR, 4.37) and transverse (4.91) colon, and in young survivors (< 60 years) in the ascending (5.19) and transverse (3.82) colon. The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 84.8 and 80.4% among survivors with EC only and 89.2 and 76.3% for survivors with CCSPC, respectively.

The risk of CCSPC among EC survivors increases especially in the proximal colon in young survivors. These results could be used for surveillance and counseling of EC survivors.