A study on the treatment of head and neck cancer accompanied by esophageal cancer

The incidence of double and triple cancers is on the increase, as have the development of diagnostic technique and therapeutic modality. We studied the clinical course and the effect of treatments for the esophageal cancer cases that accompanied head and neck cancers. Forty-nine esophageal cancer cases, that accompanied head and neck cancers, were treated at our department between 1989 and 1998. Among these. 15 cases were triple cancers. The predominant treatment for synchronous double cancers was end-mural resection or other surgery. One-half the cases involving esophageal cancers preceded by head and neck cancers were operated on and the other half were irradiated and treated with chemotherapy. These results suggest that a periodical follow-up of the upper digestive tract is mandatory, since the majority of the synchronous double esophageal cancers were early stage. High incidence of the esophageal double cancer also suggests that a systemized screening strategy for early detection of a head and neck lesion is urgently needed.