Vaginal vault carcinoma as second primary in a treated case of ovarian cancer

With the advances in the treatment of cancer, the chances of survival have increased today. The five-year relative survival rate is about 66%. With the increasing survival rate, it is important to identify the late effects of cancer and its therapy. One of the most serious events experienced by cancer survivors is the diagnosis of a new cancer. Case: A 32-year-old unmarried female diagnosed as ovarian cancer in the year 2010. She was treated with three cycles of chemotherapy followed by surgery. Histopathology was well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. She received three more cycles of chemotherapy after surgery. She was under follow-up and developed vaginal vault carcinoma after a disease-free interval of 2 years. The biopsy was suggestive of squamous cell carcinoma. She was treated with radiation for vaginal cancer successfully. This case indicates that female gynecological cancers with different histology may occur in minimum period of interval even in the absence of any predisposing factors like human papilloma virus infection.

The risk of a second primary lung cancer after a first invasive breast cancer according to estrogen receptor status

PURPOSE

Lung cancers account for 5 % of second primary cancers after breast cancer. The low overall 5-year relative survival rate of lung cancer makes it a particularly concerning new malignancy for breast cancer survivors. It is unknown whether second lung cancer risk varies by estrogen receptor (ER) expression of the first breast cancer.

METHODS

We evaluated second primary lung cancer risks using standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) (95 % confidence intervals (CIs)) among 222,148 one-year breast cancer survivors in the NCI-SEER Program registry database (1992-2008). Relative risks (RRs) and 95 % CIs for lung cancer following ER(-) compared with ER(+) breast cancer were estimated using Poisson regression, adjusted for age, year, and stage of breast cancer diagnosis, attained age, latency, and radiotherapy. We also examined the reciprocal association of second ER(-) and ER(+) breast cancers among 28,107 1-year lung cancer survivors.

RESULTS

There were 418 and 1,444 second lung cancers diagnosed following 50,781 ER(-) and 171,367 ER(+) breast cancers. Second lung cancer rates were significantly elevated after ER(-) (SIR = 1.20 (1.09-1.33)), but not ER(+) (SIR = 0.96 (0.91-1.01)) breast cancer. The adjusted RR for a second lung cancer following ER(-) compared with ER(+) breast cancer was 1.22 (1.10-1.37). The reciprocal adjusted RR for a second ER(-) compared with ER(+) breast cancer following lung cancer was 1.29 (0.98-1.70).

CONCLUSION

The parallel increase for a second lung cancer following an ER(-) first breast cancer and for a second ER(-) breast cancer after a first lung cancer suggests that there may be shared etiologic factors for these cancers. Further evaluation of lung cancer risk after ER(-) breast cancer may identify women at high risk for this fatal malignancy.

Persistent cigarette smoking and other tobacco use after a tobacco-related cancer diagnosis

INTRODUCTION

People who continue to smoke after a cancer diagnosis have an increased risk for recurrences or development of new malignancies. These risks may be even higher among tobacco-related cancer survivors (TRCS). We describe tobacco use behaviors among TRCS, other cancer survivors, and people without a history of cancer.

METHODS

We used 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to describe demographic characteristics, smoking history, current smoking prevalence, and smokeless tobacco use among TRCS, other cancer survivors, and people without a history of cancer (cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use were calculated after adjusting for age, sex, race, and insurance status). Tobacco-related cancers were defined as lung/bronchial, pharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, kidney/renal, urinary bladder, cervical, and acute myeloid leukemia.

RESULTS

A total of 20 % of all cancer survivors were TRCS. TRCS were primarily female (68 %) and white (78 %). Smoking prevalence was higher among TRCS (27 %) compared with other cancer survivors (16 %) and respondents without a history of cancer (18 %). Smokeless tobacco use was higher among respondents without a history of cancer (4 %) compared with TRCS (3 %) and other cancer survivors (3 %).

CONCLUSIONS

The self-reported smoking prevalence among TRCS is higher than among other cancer survivors and people without a history of cancer. Targeted smoking prevention and cessation interventions are needed for cancer survivors, especially those diagnosed with a tobacco-related cancer.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

We recommend all cancer survivors be made aware of the health risks associated with smoking after a cancer diagnosis, and smoking cessation services be offered to those who currently smoke. We provide the first population-based report on demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviors among self-reported tobacco-related cancer survivors.

Secondary skull base malignancies in survivors of retinoblastoma: the memorial sloan kettering cancer center experience

We report the pathology and outcome of secondary skull base tumors in patients previously treated with external beam radiation for retinoblastoma (Rb). Rb patients are at increased risk of second head and neck primary malignancies due to early radiation exposure during treatment and loss of RB1 protein in genetic carriers. An institutional database was reviewed for patients with retinoblastoma who had previously received radiation therapy and subsequently developed skull base tumors. Seventeen patients met the selection criteria. The median age of Rb diagnosis was 12 months. Thirteen cases underwent enucleation in addition to radiation therapy as part of initial Rb treatment. A median of 19 years elapsed between the diagnosis of Rb and diagnosis of skull base malignancy. The most common tumors were osteogenic sarcoma (39%) and leiomyosarcoma (22%). Eleven (71%) patients received postoperative chemotherapy, and 7 (41%) received postoperative radiotherapy. Three (24%) patients underwent salvage surgery for recurrent disease. Five-year survival was 68%, and 10-year survival was 51% by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Secondary malignancy in Rb patients is a well-defined event. The use of surgery with appropriate adjuvant therapy was associated with a 51% 10-year survival in this study population.

Second malignancies among elderly survivors of cancer

The U.S. population is aging, life expectancy is increasing, and cancer is a disease associated with aging. Advances in screening and therapeutics have led to a growing number of cancer survivors who are at risk for the development of secondary malignancies. Although the risks for the development of second malignancies following a first diagnosis of cancer are well described for survivors of childhood malignancies, there are fewer data for malignancies common in older adults. With the aging of the U.S. population, and with improving survival statistics in many adult malignancies, there is an increasing need to identify those second malignancies that might develop in the older adult survivor of cancer. In this paper, we describe the types and rates of second malignancies following cancers commonly seen in older adults and review the literature on these malignancies. Comparisons are made between older and younger adults with regard to the risks for developing treatment-related cancers with different modalities. Recommendations for early detection of second malignancies are summarized, though there remains an unmet need for evidence-based guidelines for screening for second malignancies in the older adult in particular.

Anatomic sites at elevated risk of second primary cancer after an index head and neck cancer

BACKGROUND

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are at significantly elevated risk of second primary malignancies (SPM), most commonly within the head and neck, lung, and esophagus (HNLE). Our objectives were to quantify the excess risk of SPM across all anatomic sites in which SPM risk is meaningfully elevated, including non-HNLE sites, in a large cohort of US patients.

METHODS

Population-based analysis of 75,087 patients with HNSCC in the SEER program, quantifying excess SPM risk by integrating relative (standardized incidence ratio; SIR) and absolute (excess absolute risk per 10,000 person-years at risk; EAR) statistics.

RESULTS

In HNSCC patients, the SIR of a second primary solid cancer was 2.2 (95% CI 2.1-2.2), corresponding to EAR of 167.7 additional cases per 10,000 person-years at risk. Over 1 year, 60 patients would need to be followed to observe one excess SPM. Lung cancer burden was most markedly elevated in absolute terms (EAR = 75.2), followed by HN (EAR = 59.8), esophageal (EAR = 14.2), and colorectal (EAR = 4.3) cancers. Lesser but significant excess risks were also observed for cancers of the bladder, liver, stomach, pancreas, kidney, salivary glands, nasopharynx, uterine cervix, and lymphoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Data from a large population-based US cohort reveals that HNSCC patients experience markedly excess risk of SPM, predominantly in the HNLE sites. Furthermore, the risk of SPM is also meaningfully elevated, although to a lesser degree, in multiple other tobacco-associated sites.

Morphological types of breast cancer in family members and multiple primary tumours: is morphology genetically determined?

BACKGROUND

We conducted the present study to determine whether breast cancer morphology is genetically determined.

METHODS

Using the nationwide Swedish Family Cancer Database, which includes data on 10.2 million individuals and over 25,000 morphology-specific breast cancers, we followed morphological types in familial cancers between mothers and daughters and between sisters. Additionally, we recorded morphological data in women who presented with two primary breast cancers and in those who presented with an invasive and in situ breast cancer. We used kappa statistics to examine the association between genetics and morphology. A kappa value of 0 indicates that the process is random and a value of 1 indicates that it is completely determined (i.e. genetic); values between 0.40 and 0.60 are considered to indicate a moderately determined process.

RESULTS

The study sample included a total of 25,730 first and 3394 second invasive breast cancers, and 2990 in situ breast cancers. Ductal, lobular, tubuloductal and comedo were the most common invasive types. We identified 164 mother-daughter pairs with breast cancer of a defined morphology, yielding a low kappa value of 0.08. Among 100 sister pairs the kappa value was 0.002. In individuals with two primary breast cancers the kappa values were 0.22 and 0.01 for two invasive and in situ-invasive pairs, respectively. However, for a tumour with a subsequent tumour detected in the contralateral breast less than 1 year later the kappa value was 0.47.

CONCLUSION

The data suggest that breast cancer morphology is not genetically determined. However, because of mixed morphologies and the overwhelming prevalence of ductal morphology, the results for rare morphologies should be interpreted with caution.

Borderline ovarian tumours in Vaud, Switzerland: incidence, survival and second neoplasms

Between 1976 and 1996, 176 borderline ovarian tumours were registered in the Cancer Registry of the Swiss canton of Vaud, corresponding to an age-adjusted incidence (world standard) of 2.7 in 100,000. Incidence rose from 1.7 per 100,000 during 1976-81 to 2.7 per 100,000 during 1987-91, and then levelled off; 58% of cases were serous and 41% mucinous. Relative survival was 94% at 10 years; 18 second neoplasms were observed, compared with 10.3 expected, and there was a significant excess of invasive ovarian cancers (four observed, including three synchronous, compared with 0.4 expected).