Multiple primary cancers: An enigma

BACKGROUND: Incidence of multiple primary cancers though uncommon, is being frequently reported now-a-days owing to better diagnostic techniques, the prolonged life span and the increased incidence of long-term survival of cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study. Cases of multiple malignancies diagnosed histopathologically were retrieved from the archives of department of surgical oncology. Clinical data were obtained from the medical records. They were categorized as synchronous malignancies if the interval between them was less or equal to 6 months and metachronous, if the interval was more than 6 months. RESULTS: A total of 13 cases were encountered in the 5 year study period. Out of them two were in the metachronous category and the rest were synchronous as the 2(nd) malignancy was detected mostly during clinical evaluation of the patients for the primary malignancy. There was female predominance with age range being 43-68 years. Majority of the cases were in the 7(th) decade. The most common organ involved was breast, followed by cervix. Apart from bilateral breast malignancies, there were combinations like breast with uterine endometrial carcinoma, cervical carcinoma and even papillary thyroid carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Detection of multiple primary malignancies is becoming increasingly common in day-to-day practice. Greater awareness of this is required among both cancer patients and their treating clinicians.