Case series of multiple primary cancers in single individuals: diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Cancer recurrence represents treatment failure; the development of new primary tumors is suggestive of persistent exposure to etiological risk factors or genetic predisposition due to mutations in multiple cell lines.

Case presentation/Design/Methods: The first case is a 65-years-old Caucasian male who presented with esophageal and lung cancer diagnosed synchronously. Smoking was the common risk factor for both cancers, underscoring field cancerization. The diagnosis and management was a challenge and different from either cancer presenting alone. Multidisciplinary approach was used and led to good outcomes.

The second case is a 72-years-old Caucasian male presenting a rare dilemma of genetic mutation leading to multiple primary gastrointestinal cancers in a single individual. The gene explaining this group of cancers has not been diagnosed yet and the field needs to be explored further.

Conclusion: Multiple primary cancers can be secondary to a common environmental risk factor or genetic mutations.

KEYWORDS:

• Multiple cancers
• field cancerization
• esophageal cancer
• colon cancer
• carcinoid tumors

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Availability of data and material

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. Data to compare the study were taken from PubMed.