Factors influencing survival in acinic cell carcinoma: a retrospective survival analysis of 2061 patients

Head Neck. 2015 Jun;37(6):870-7. doi: 10.1002/hed.23686. Epub 2014 Jul 28.

Abstract

Background: Acinic cell carcinoma is an uncommon salivary neoplasm with clinical and histologic features known to influence prognosis. The purpose of this study was to further describe variables influencing survival in a large cohort of patients with acinic cell carcinoma.

Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry, we obtained demographic, clinicopathologic, and treatment data pertaining to patients diagnosed with acinic cell carcinoma. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed to compare survival with various clinical and pathological parameters.

Results: We identified 2061 patients with acinic cell carcinoma from 1973 to 2009. Sex, staging, grade, subsite, and treatment were significant predictors of disease-specific survival (DSS). Patients who received surgery alone had the highest 20-year DSS (92.4%), followed by those treated with surgery and radiation (71.9%) or radiation alone (62.3%).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that histologic grade is a stronger predictor of survival than TNM classification, survival after surgical resection alone is excellent, and adjuvant radiation may be of limited benefit

Keywords: acinic cell carcinoma; grade; surgery; survival; treatment.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Biopsy, Needle
  • Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / mortality*
  • Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / pathology*
  • Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / therapy
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Lymph Nodes / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Prognosis
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Assessment
  • SEER Program
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms / mortality*
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms / therapy
  • Survival Analysis