Laryngeal cancer and lung cancer in the same patient: a retrospective study

Fifty-four patients with laryngeal cancer and lung cancer were analyzed with regard to histology and localization of the lung cancer, the time interval between the detection of the two tumours and survival. It appeared that most lung tumours were squamous cell carcinomas, half of which were centrally localized and most occurred metachronously in the first 4 years after the laryngeal carcinoma. The survival rate was poor, due to the fact that the bronchial carcinoma usually was found beyond a curative stage. It appears that the present follow-up in laryngeal cancer patients--frequent ENT-examination, yearly chest X-ray examination--is often inadequate for early detection of lung cancer and curative treatment. It might be that by intensifying follow-up in laryngeal cancer patients by bronchoscopy, sputum cytology and more frequent chest X-ray examination, more bronchial carcinomas would be detected in a curative stage.