Clinical Course Of Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer As Second Primary Malignancy

Objective： To evaluate the clinical course of patients with small cell lung cancer （SCLC） as second primary malignancy. Methods： Among the 355 patients diagnosed with SCLC at Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Center of Hartford Hospital Connecticut USA between 1988 and 1998, the records of 48 patients, which had been diagnosed with other malignancies before their diagnosis of SCLC, were retro- spectively reviewed. Results： Forty-eight patients （13.5%） were diagnosed with other malignancies prior to their SCLC among which 43 had documented smoking history and 93% of them （40/43） were current/former smokers. Of the 28-second primary SCLC patients who were treated with standard method, 11 （39.3%） achieved CR. 12 （42.8%） achieved PR, and the RR was 82.1%. The median survival of the 28 treated with standard method was 11.3 months （5.1-77.7 months）, while that of the rest 19 untreated patients （1 of 20 was lost to follow-up） was only 2.0 months （0.5 34.0 months）. There was no significant difference in the median survival and RR between 165 treated first primary SCLC （13.5 months and 77.6% respectively） and 28 treated secondary primary SCLC （11.3 months and 82.1% respectively） （P〉0.05）. The patients who had prostate cancer were older and subjected to less treatments than those with skin cancer, so their survival was shorter than the latter （3.5 months vs. 15 months, P〈0.05）. Conclusion： The response and survival of the treated patients with SCLC as a second malignancy showed no difference as compared to the treated ones with SCLC only. Therefore, an active medical treatment is important to relieve symptom and prolong survival of the second primary SCLC patients.

Criminal or bystander: imatinib and second primary malignancy in GIST patients

Niigata University Hospital is a regional center institution of cancer therapy where many patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors （GISTs） are visiting to seek the latest treatment.During the time Ⅰ was treating GIST patients there with imatinib,a tyrosine kinase inhibitor,a small concern was raised：Ⅰ successively encountered patients who were newly diagnosed as having malignant neoplasms during the course of their treatment.Of the 70 GIST patients who were enrolled in our prospective study of imatinib therapy,seven suffered from second primary malignancies （SPMs）.One female GIST patient who suffered from advanced esophageal cancer died of the SPM,whereas the remaining six patients continued with their imatinib therapy and their prognoses were not affected by their SPMs.I reported on the risk of SPMs in GIST patients under imatinib therapy to an international journal of clinical oncology （1）.As the patient cohort of our study was so small in number to apply to statistical analysis,our observation was no more than a clinical alert.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors and second primary malignancies before and after the introduction of imatinib mesylate

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor （GIST） is the most common mesenchymal malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract.GISTs may coexist with different types of cancer,either synchronous or metachronous （1）.Most GISTs develop in a sporadic fashion,but familial occurrence,such as neurofibromatosis and Carney-triad,has also been reported （2）.The overall frequency of second tumors in different series varied from 4.5% to 33%.The most frequent types of GIST-associated cancers were gastrointestinal carcinomas （47%）,lymphoma/leukemia （7%）,carcinomas of prostate （9%）,breast （7%）,kidney （6%）,lung （5%）,female genital tract （5%）,carcinoid tumors （3%）,soft tissue and bone sarcomas （3%）,malignant melanoma （2%） and seminoma （1%） （1,3-5）.

Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography imaging in head and neck oncology:An update

Cancers of the head and neck account for more than half a million cases worldwide annually, with a significant majority diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC). Imaging studies such as contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT), magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and ^(18)F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography(^(18)F-FDG PET/CT) are widely used to determine the presence and extent of tumors and metastatic disease, both before and after treatment. Advances in PET/CT imaging have allowed it to emerge as a superior imaging modality compared to both CT and MRI, especially in detection of carcinoma of unknown primary, cervical lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, residual/recurrent cancer and second primary tumors, often leading to alteration in management. PET/CT biomarker may further provide an overall assessment of tumor aggressiveness with prognostic implications. As new developments emerged leading to better understanding and use of PET/CT in head and neck oncology, the aim of this article is to review the roles of PET/CT in both pre- and post-treatment management of HNSCC and PET-derived parameters as prognostic indicators.