Occurrence of additional primary neoplasms in patients with laryngeal carcinoma in Israel (1960-1976).

One thousand-six-hundred and sixty cases of laryngeal cancer were diagnosed in Israel during the years 1960-1976. In 98 of these cases another primary cancer accompanied the laryngeal carcinoma. Patients whose second primary cancer was basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin were not included in this study. Therefore, the results reported here deal with 84 patients. The prevalence of multiple primary cancer in patients with laryngeal carcinoma was found to be 5%. Lung cancer is the other primary tumor accompanying laryngeal carcinoma most frequently (29% of the additional tumors) followed by colorectal and bladder cancers. Most of the additional tumors (83%) appeared in a metachronic form with an average time interval of six years. In most metachronic tumors laryngeal carcinoma appeared as the first tumor (86%). Eighty percent of the patients were dead by August 1978. The majority (74%) succumbed due to the additional tumor and only 4% died of laryngeal carcinoma.