Multiple primary malignancies in patients treated for laryngeal carcinoma

Multiple primary malignancies were found in 32 of 295 consecutive patients (10.8%) treated for carcinoma of the larynx. Synchronously developing second primary lesions were found in four patients while metachronously presenting lesions were diagnosed in 28. Second and third primary tumors were most commonly found in the larynx (11 patients, all with extralaryngeal index lesions) and lung (11 patients). The results of this retrospective study confirm the high incidence of multicentric neoplasia in the upper aero-digestive tract, lungs and esophagus. The rationale for including broncho-esophagoscopy in the evaluation of patients with laryngeal index tumors is discussed.