[Panendoscopy in the research of multiple malignant synchronous occult tumors in patients with cancer of the upper aero-digestive tract].

The Authors consider the result obtained in the diagnosis of malignancies simultaneous neoplasia in patients with a tumour of the head and neck. The study was conducted on 337 patients on 750 observed in the last seven years with a squamous-cell carcinoma at different stages of keratinization, who underwent an ORL examination, bronchoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy, sometimes with intravital staining. Bronchoscopy was conducted on 297 patients, esophagogastruoduodenoscopy on 300. Altogether 260 were subject to both techniques and 77 to only one procedure. Endoscopy released a second tumour in 4 cases on 297 (1.34%) of the bronchus and in 5 cases on 300 (1.66%) of the esophagus. The percentage amounts to 3.46% in 260 patients subject to both examinations. Our study released a malignancies cells (18 cases on 216); this number was not confirmed by istological examination on bronchial biopsy. Our collaborators consider this result as pollution derived from cells coming from clear tumour in expansion. Our study, obtained from a substantial number of cases, justify the use of panendoscopy screening in conjunction with routine studies; although this procedure is aggressive, it is acceptable, because these second tumours have been discovered in early and asintomatic stage and were not found in the radiological examination.