Fine needle biopsy of double or multiple primary carcinomas of the lung.

Any pulmonary mass discovered after obvious successful surgery for bronchogenic carcinoma has to be suspected of potentially being a second primary cancer of the lung. "Recurrent" carcinoma in a bronchial stump may not be a continuation of the original tumor, but a new primary. Early recognition is important for patient management, therapy and prognosis, since curative resection of the second primary may still be feasible. Fine needle biopsy may be helpful in obtaining an early cytological and histological diagnosis and be decisive for specific treatment with improved prospects of cure. Fourty-eight patients, who underwent thoracotomy for a synchronous or successive mass in a patient with successfully removed bronchogenic carcinoma diagnosed by fine needle biopsy, showed a second primary carcinoma of the lung in 18 cases, while 30 cases showed evidence of metastatic disease.