Panendoscopy: A Valuable Procedure?

Abstract

The significance of panendoscopy, performed as part of the routine diagnostic procedure, must be questioned when the incidence of synchronous primary tumors found by this procedure is only 1% to 2%, as in patients with head and neck cancer in the Dutch population. In order to detect a group of patients with a higher probability of secondary tumors, patients were selected for panendoscopy on the following criteria: Localization and histology of the index tumors, as well as on smoking and drinking habits. In spite of this selection, the yield of panendoscopy was still below 2%. Until other criteria for the selection of a subset of patients with a high incidence of synchronous tumours are found, the indication for panendoscopy as part of a routine diagnostic procedure has to be constantly questioned, and panendoscopy should therefore be performed only when this procedure is part of a prospective study.