Risk of second primary cancer following treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip

The risk of second primary cancers (excluding skin cancers) was evaluated a mong 56 patients who underwent treatment for a squamous cell carcinoma of t he lower lip. The mean follow-up was 5.5 years. Ten patients (17.8%) develo ped at least one new primary cancer. The prevalence of second primary cance rs within the respiratory and upper digestive tract, and elsewhere in the b ody, was 19.4 and 12.9 per 1000 person-years of follow-up, respectively. Pa tients were at risk for a second primary cancer at a steady rate of 2.7% pe r year during at least 5 years. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.