Second primary digestive cancer after resection of lung cancer

Purpose. We evaluated the clinical findings of patients with second primary digestive cancers (SPDC) after the resection of lung cancer. Methods. Among 772 patients who underwent resection of primary lung cancer at Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center between 1993 and 2002, 10 (1.3%) were diagnosed with SPDC during follow-up. These ten patients were classified into two groups based on whether the SPDC was incidentally (group I) or symptomatically (group S) diagnosed. Results. The median interval to the detection of SPDC was 17 months in group I and 66 months in group S, and the disease was at an earlier stage in group I than in group S (P = 0.008). Comparing body weight at the time of lung resection to that at the time of abdominal surgery, significant weight loss was evident in group S (P = 0.009). The postoperative disease-specific survival rate was 100% in group I. No long-term survivor died of lung cancer. Conclusion. Special attention must be paid to the possibility of SPDC after the resection of lung cancer to improve the prognosis of patients with lung cancer.