Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of second primary malignancies in patients diagnosed with an index nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the United States.
Methods: The cohort was assembled from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database with a primary NPC between 1973 and 2005.
Results: There was a 47% increased risk of second primary malignancy. The sites with increased risk include the oral cavity and pharynx (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] = 7.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.21-9.49), esophagus (SIR = 3.50; 95% CI = 1.68-6.44), nose, nasal cavity, and middle ear (SIR = 15.54; 95% CI = 5.70-33.83), and lung and bronchus (SIR = 2.39; 95% CI = 1.91-2.96).
Conclusion: Patients with NPC are likely at a significant risk for second primary malignancies, most notably in the oral cavity and pharynx, which is most likely related to genetic susceptibility, increased surveillance, and treatment effects. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1130-E1136, 2016.
Keywords: disease surveillance; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; oral cavity cancer; second primary cancer; survival.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.