Second cancer following lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers in Connecticut, 1935-82.

Abstract

The risk of developing a second primary cancer was evaluated in approximately 19,000 persons with initial cancers of the lymphatic and hematopoietic system in Connecticut between 1935 and 1982. Significant excesses for all second cancers were observed among patients with leukemia (34%), Hodgkin's disease (70%), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (25%), and multiple myeloma (24%). In general, the risk of second cancers was greater in males than in females, even for cohorts not showing an excess of surveillance-related prostate cancer. Among patients with leukemia, significant excesses of cancers of the lung, kidney/ureter, and prostate were noted; cutaneous melanoma was elevated only in males. These excesses did not persist in the small number of long-term survivors. Possible etiologic factors included tobacco smoking for lung and kidney cancers, medical surveillance artifact for prostate cancer, and immunosuppression for malignant melanoma and lung cancer. The large number and good prognoses of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia strongly influenced the pattern of second cancers when all leukemias were analyzed together; no evidence was found for an increased risk of second cancer in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia. A disproportionate number of subsequent cancers, particularly those of the kidney and ureter, were diagnosed incidentally at autopsy. Patients with Hodgkin's disease displayed significant excesses of cancers of the buccal cavity and pharynx, lung, female breast, and thyroid. The latter 3 sites remained significantly elevated in long-term survivors (10 yr or more postdiagnosis), so that radiation therapy may have contributed to their development. Among persons with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cancers of the stomach, lung, brain, and connective tissue occurred excessively. The first 3 sites, plus cancers of the urinary bladder, remained elevated among long-term survivors. The brain cancer excess, not previously reported, may represent misclassification of central nervous system lymphoma. The risk of gastric cancer is reminiscent of similar findings in patients with both acquired and genetically determined immunodeficiency disorders. The alkylating agent, cyclophosphamide, used extensively in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is known to cause bladder cancer in man.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)