Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent guidelines recommend chest computed tomography (CT) for smokers based on studies of individuals aged 55 to 74 years with 30-pack year smoking to detect lung cancers. Some have postulated that a prior diagnosis of head and neck cancer (HNC) should also warrant lung cancer screening with CT, but no studies have demonstrated benefit in this population. Our goal was to compare survival of HNC patients with second primary lung cancers (SPLCs) with survival of lung cancer-only patients to determine if detecting early stage lung cancer in those with prior HNC could lead to similar survival benefits. METHODS: Survival estimates for patients with early stage SPLC diagnosed between ages 55 and 74 at least 1 year after HNC diagnosis were compared with patients with early stage lung cancer and no other cancers. RESULTS: Median survival of patients with lung cancer only was 38 months. Median survival after SPLC was 22 months. History of head and neck cancer predicted poorer survival after lung cancer diagnosis, P<.0001. CONCLUSIONS: Survival outcomes after early lung cancer are worse after HNC. This finding diminishes the effectiveness of chest CT as a screening modality for HNC survivors, and further study should be undertaken prior to its routine use.