Clinico-pathological study about prognostic factors on 56 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma

Abstract

A retrospective study was performed on 56 patients with pathologically diagnosed adenoid cystic carcinoma treated at Maxillofacial Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital between 1965 and 2002. In terms of site distribution, the palate and floor of the mouth were predominantly affected. Twenty-six cases were treated by surgery combined with radiation therapy, 20 cases only by surgery, 6 cases by radiation therapy, and the remaining 4 cases received only biopsy. The overall survival rates at 5 and 10 years were 62.6% and 33.4%, respectively. The overall survival rates for stage I·II cases at 5 and 10 years were 72.9% and 30.9%, respectively, whereas the rates for stage III·IV cases were 51.0% and 15.9%, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups. This finding indicates that the clinical stage was the useful prognostic factor. Primary recurrence occurred in 51.1% of the cases and distant metastasis occurred in 65.9% of the cases, and the cases with primary recurrence had a significantly higher frequency of distant metastasis. From these results, it may be suggested that local control is important in the treatment of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck.