The assessment of Second Primary Cancers (SPCs) in a series of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL) patients

The purpose of this study is to estimate the risk of second primary cancer (SPC) in 129 consecutive patients with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) diagnosed in three Italian haematological centres. The person-years method deriving as a sum ofproducts ofage- and sex- specific rates and ofthe corresponding time at risk was used. The SPC Standardized Incidence Ratio ISIR) was 2.03 with a 95% confidence interval: [1.05,3.56] (p < 0.05) and the corresponding Absolute Excess Risk (AER) was 145.8 (per 10000 SMZL patients per year). Our findings evidence a high frequency of additional cancers in patients with SMZL and suggest that the incidence rate of SPCs is significantly different from that expected in the general population