Characteristics of lung cancer after a previous malignancy

SummaryBackgroundIn the era of improving overall survival rates of malignant diseases, the impact of a previous malignancy (PM) on treatment and outcome of lung cancer (LC) remains unclear.MethodsWe reviewed all LC patients from our institution that were treated from 2004 to 2006 for the occurrence of LC with PM excluding patients with multiple primary LC.ResultsA total of 444 and 2698 LC patients with and without a history of a PM were identified (prevalence of 14.1%). PM were most often located in breast (15.5%), prostate (14.9%), bladder (9.0%) and kidney (8.8%). Compared to never smokers, patients with nicotine consumption had more often a cancer history of prostate, gastrointestinal, and the head-neck region. The median interval until diagnosis of LC was 72.2 months (range 0–537 months) with most LC diagnosed 5 years after PM diagnosis. With a similar distribution of histology, stage and localization compared to controls, NSCLC patients with PM and stage IV disease showed a favorable overall survival (p