Head and neck carcinoma in children: A clinicopathological study of 42 cases

Xin-Jia Cai; Zu-Nan Tang; Yu-Ping Liu; Xu Wang; Jia-Ying Bai; Xiao-Wen Guo; He-Yu Zhang; Jian-Yun Zhang; Tie-Jun Li

doi:10.1016/j.jds.2023.04.027

Head and neck carcinoma in children: A clinicopathological study of 42 cases

J Dent Sci. 2023 Oct;18(4):1486-1492. doi: 10.1016/j.jds.2023.04.027. Epub 2023 May 6.

Authors

Xin-Jia Cai^{1

2}, Zu-Nan Tang³, Yu-Ping Liu², Xu Wang⁴, Jia-Ying Bai², Xiao-Wen Guo², He-Yu Zhang⁵, Jian-Yun Zhang^{2

1}, Tie-Jun Li^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Research Unit of Precision Pathologic Diagnosis in Tumors of the Oral and Maxillofacial Regions, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019RU034), Beijing, PR China.
² Department of Oral Pathology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology & National Center of Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Digital Medical Devices, Beijing, PR China.
³ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology & National Center of Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Digital Medical Devices, Beijing, PR China.
⁴ Department of Oral Medicine, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology & National Center of Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Digital Medical Devices, Beijing, PR China.
⁵ Central Laboratory, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, PR China.

Abstract

Background/purpose: Cancer is an important part of the global burden of childhood diseases. Head and neck carcinoma in children is rare and related research is limited. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features of childhood head and neck carcinoma.

Materials and methods: Forty-two cases of childhood head and neck carcinoma treated in our institution were reviewed and analyzed.

Results: Median age overall was 11 years. Twenty-three patients (54.8%) were male and 19 (45.2%) were female. Parotid gland location was most common (54.8%). Mucoepidermoid carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were the most common histological types (57.1% and 11.9%, respectively). Two patients had a history of bone marrow transplantation and two had a history of odontogenic keratocyst. The recurrence rate after treatment was 8.6%.

Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment and close follow-up of childhood head and neck carcinoma are warranted to prevent recurrence and improve clinical outcome.

Keywords: Children; Head and neck carcinoma; Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; Squamous cell carcinoma.