Abstract
Between 1983 and 2009, 23 patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck were treated with definitive surgery. Twelve patients were male and 11 were female. The mean age of the patients was 64.1 years (with an age range of 28-80). The most common source site was the parotid gland (7 patients), followed by the submandibular gland (5 patients), the oral cavity (5 patients), the maxillary sinus (2 patients), the nasopharynx (2 patients), the mesopharynx (1 patient), and the trachea (1 patient). A retrospective analysis was performed with regard to histological subtypes, treatment, overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate.
The overall 10-year survival rate and 10-year disease-free survival rate were 69.7% and 32.9%, respectively. With regard to histological subtypes, a solid type had a tendency to have a poor prognosis. Also, it was suggested that postoperative radiotherapy could improve local control rates. Although prophylactic neck dissection could reduce cervical lymph node metastasis, it may not affect the long-term prognosis.
