Rising cancer survival rates have led to an increased risk of multiple primary cancers (MPCs). Data on MPCs in South Korea are limited. This study aimed to address incidence and clinical characteristics of MPCs in a single cancer center in Korea during a 20-year period. We retrospectively analyzed 96,174 cancer patients at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital between 2003 and 2022, identifying 2167 patients with metachronous MPCs based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results SEER criteria. We categorized patients by cancer type (15 major solid cancer groups and 3 major hematologic cancer groups), including pathological diagnosis, assessed latency periods, and relative risks (RRs) for developing MPCs. The overall MPC incidence was 2.3%. Breast cancer (15.7%) was the most common primary cancer, and lung cancer (15.2%) was the most frequent second primary cancer. The median latency period for second primary cancers was 4.1 years. Decreasing latency periods for third and fourth primary cancers were observed (2.1 years and 1.6 years, respectively). Most cancers maintained their dominant pathological type despite notable changes in the prevalence of specific pathologies for certain types of second primaries. Lymphoma showed the highest RR (2.1) for developing MPCs. Significant associations were found between specific primary and subsequent cancers, including breast–ovary, thyroid–breast, stomach–pancreas, colorectal–head and neck, lung–prostate, and lymphoma–myeloid neoplasms. These findings contribute to a better understanding of MPC occurrence. They can inform future research on their etiology and development of improved management strategies.
随着癌症生存率的提高，多原发癌（MPCs）的发生风险也随之增加。目前韩国关于MPCs的数据较为有限。本研究旨在探讨韩国某癌症中心20年间MPCs的发病情况及临床特征。我们回顾性分析了2003年至2022年间韩国癌症中心医院的96,174例癌症患者，依据美国监测、流行病学和最终结果（SEER）标准，共识别出2167例异时性MPCs患者。我们按癌症类型（15种主要实体癌组和3种主要血液癌组）对患者进行分类，纳入病理诊断，评估了潜伏期及发生MPCs的相对风险（RRs）。MPCs总体发病率为2.3%。乳腺癌（15.7%）是最常见的首发癌，肺癌（15.2%）则是最常见的第二原发癌。第二原发癌的中位潜伏期为4.1年。第三和第四原发癌的潜伏期呈缩短趋势（分别为2.1年和1.6年）。尽管某些特定类型的第二原发癌在具体病理亚型分布上存在显著变化，但多数癌症仍保持其主要病理类型。淋巴瘤发生MPCs的相对风险最高（RR=2.1）。研究发现特定首发癌与后续继发癌之间存在显著关联，包括乳腺-卵巢癌、甲状腺-乳腺癌、胃-胰腺癌、结直肠-头颈癌、肺-前列腺癌以及淋巴瘤-髓系肿瘤。这些发现有助于增进对MPCs发生机制的理解，可为未来研究其病因及制定更优管理策略提供参考。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家