Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Salivary gland cancers (SGC) represent an uncommon group of heterogeneous tumors. We performed
a retrospective survey of SGC diagnosed in a reference center for treatment of malignant tumors from the
south of Brazil aiming to determine the prognostic value of demographic, clinic and pathologic features.
MATERIAL AND METHODS : Cases diagnosed as SGC between 2006 and 2016 were retrospectively collected. Medical
records were examined to extract demographic, clinic, pathologic and follow-up information.
RESULTS : One-hundred and seven cases of SGC were identified. The most common SGC were mucoepidermoid
carcinoma (MEC) (n = 39) followed by adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) (n = 29). Among AdCCs, 55.2% of cases
were classified as cribriform, 27.6% as tubular and 17.2% as solid. The tubular subtype had the highest percentage
of cases with perineural invasion (p=0.01). Among MEC, 61.5% of cases were classified as low grade, 15.4% as
intermediate grade and 19.9% as high grade. Low grade MEC had the lowest percentage of cases with perineural
invasion (p=0.04). The 5-year survival for loco-regional control, disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific
survival were 75%, 70% and 84%, respectively. The following features were associated with poor DFS: advanced age (p=0.03), rural residency (p=0.01), being a smoker or former smoker (p=0.01), pain (p=0.03), nodal metastasis
(p<0.001), need for chemotherapy (p=0.02), neck dissection (p=0.04), perineural invasion (p=0.01), and being diagnosed
with AdCC compared to MEC (p=0.02).
CONCLUSIONS : The clinco-demographic and pathologic features identified as prognostic factors reveal the profile of
patients at increased risk of recurrence and who would benefit from closer follow-up.
