Postoperative radiotherapy for mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the major salivary glands: long-term results of a single-institution experience
- Author:
Geumju PARK
1
;
Sang wook LEE
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; Salivary gland neoplasms; Radiotherapy
- MeSH: Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid; Disease-Free Survival; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Multivariate Analysis; Radiotherapy; Retrospective Studies; Salivary Gland Neoplasms; Salivary Glands
- From:Radiation Oncology Journal 2018;36(4):317-324
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term survival outcomes and prognostic factors that affect the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for major salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 44 patients who underwent surgery followed by radiotherapy for primary MEC of the major salivary glands between 1991 and 2014. The median follow-up period was 9.8 years (range, 0.8 to 23.8 years). RESULTS: The overall outcomes at 5 and 10 years were 81.5% and 78.0% for overall survival (OS), 86.2% and 83.4% for disease-free survival, 90.6% and 87.6% for locoregional recurrence-free survival, and both 90.5% for distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). Histologic grade was the only independent predictor of OS (low vs. intermediate vs. high; hazard ratio = 3.699; p = 0.041) in multivariate analysis. A poorer survival was observed among patients with high-grade tumors compared with those with non-high-grade tumors (5-year OS, 37.5% vs. 91.7%, p < 0.001; 5-year DMFS, 46.9% vs. 100%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Surgery and postoperative radiotherapy resulted in excellent survival outcomes for patients with major salivary gland MEC. However, high-grade tumors contributed to poor DMFS and OS. Additional aggressive strategies for improving survival outcomes should be developed for high-grade MEC.
