Survival after surgical resection of pulmonary metastases and second primary squamous cell lung carcinomas in head and neck cancer

Background. Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are at risk for developing both pulmonary metastasis and second primary lung cancer (SPLC). The objective of this study was to determine survival characteristics of patients with pulmonary lesions after curative treatment for HNSCC. Methods. Lung resection or biopsy specimens of 36 patients, curatively treated for HNSCC between 1978 and 2002, were defined as second primary squamous cell lung cancer or metastasis by loss of heterozygosity (LOH analysis). Twenty-two of them underwent surgical resection. Survival characteristics were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis according to the LOH characterization. Results. The number of resected lung lesions ranged from 1 to 3. Median overall survival after lung surgery was 23.1 months for SPLC (n = 14) and 25.1 months for lung metastases (n = 8). Fourteen patients, SPLC (n = 6) and metastases (n = 8), did not undergo surgical resection, and their median overall survival was 3.7 and 4.4 months, respectively. Conclusion. Survival after resection of metachronic lung lesions following curative treatment of HNSSC is similar for lesions characterized as second primary squamous cell lung cancer and those characterized as metastases.