Clinical Features of Multiple Primary Malignancies: a Retrospective Analysis of 72 Chinese Patients

Abstract

There is a scarcity of reports addressing patients with multiple primary malignancies (MPM), especially for Chinese cses. The aim of this study was to present a detailed analysis of Chinese patients presenting with at least two primary malignancies. Particularly, the clinical characteristics and survival between synchronous and metachronous MPM were compared. Out of 6,545 cases, 72 patients (1.1%) including 39 males (54.2%) and 33 females (45.8%) were diagnosed as MPM, giving a male: female sex ratio of 1.2:1. Of these, there were 16 (22.2%) cases of synchronous MPM (7 males, 9 females), 55(76.4%) metachronous (31 males, 24 females), and 1 "mixed form". For first tumor diagnosis time, synchronous MPM patients generally presented later than the metachronous cases. The top three sites for malignancies with metachronous MPM were colorectum, head and neck, and lung, while for synchronous they were lung, colorectum and breast. Among MPM patients, the median survival time was 15.7 years and the 5-year survival was 56%, and there was statistical difference in MPM categories (P < 0.05). The median survival time was 17.3 years and 3.8 years for metachronous and synchronous MPM patients, respectively. In comparison with synchronous MPM patients, those metachronous had a longer survival. This studies increase understanding of the clinical features of Chinese MPM patients and suggest that those presenting with metachronous cancers have a higher incidence and a better prognosis.

Multiple primary testicular tumours in the dog – a case report

“…It is defined as the occurrence of two or more tumours in the same or different organs of the patient. The syndrome was described for the first time in the second half of the nineteenth century by Theodor Billroth (Jiao et al 2014).…”

“…Depending on the diagnosis time of each tumour, there are two types of MPM distinguished: synchronous -tumours occurring at the same time or within six months; and metachronous -tumours occurring successively at an interval of over six months (Jiao et al 2014). Though uncommon, the phenomenon has been increasingly reported and can affect many systems and organs.…”

Impact of smoking on multiple primary cancers survival: a retrospective analysis

“…According to the time criterion, MPCs can be divided into synchronous, i.e., new malignancies that develop within 6 months, and metachronous, i.e., when a new malignancy develops after 6 months [3]. The incidence of MPCs in the general population ranges from 0.75 to 11% [4][5][6].…”

Co-existent breast and renal cancer

“…Several synchronous multiple tumors were reported in the genitourinary and gastrointestinal tract (3). Synchronous primary carcinoma is known to arise in multiple organs, and the incidence is reported between 0.73 to 11.7% (2). Three criteria are proposed for the definition of multiple primary cancers; 1) Each tumor must fulfill the criteria for its own tumor properties, 2)…”

“…Synchronous tumors are defined as presence of a second tumor at the same time with the first tumor or within the first 6 months following diagnosis (2). Secondary neoplasms that do not comply with this rule are called metachronous tumors.…”