Epithelial‐Myoepithelial Carcinoma of the Salivary Glands: An Analysis of 246 Cases. (2nd September 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vazquez, Alejandro; D'Aguillo, Christine M.; Farver, William; Abdou, Rami Y.; Baredes, Soly; Eloy, Jean A.; Park, Chan W.
• Is Part Of: Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery. Volume 151(2014)Supplement 1
• Page Start: P55
• Page End: P55
• Publication Date: 2014-09-02
• Subjects: Head -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Neck -- Surgery -- Periodicals; Otolaryngology -- Periodicals; 617.51
• DOI: 10.1177/0194599814541627a84
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0194-5998

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives: Epithelial‐myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) is a rare neoplasm of the salivary glands. In this study we aim to analyze the clinical features of EMC using national registry data. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was queried. Data were analyzed with respect to various demographic and clinicopathologic factors. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan‐Meier and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: A total of 246 cases were available for frequency analysis and 189 for survival analysis. Mean age at diagnosis was 63.8 (±15.4) years. EMC affected females more frequently (57.3%). Distant metastases were present in only 4.5% of cases. Overall disease‐specific survival (DSS) at 15 years was 80.2%. Patients with low‐grade histology had better DSS at 10 years than those with high‐grade tumors (96.2% vs 71.0%, P =. 0124). Tumors >4 cm exhibited the worst DSS at 15 years (64.5%, P =. 0009). In the survival analysis cohort, all but 6 patients underwent surgery, and a total of 78 (41.3%) received adjuvant radiation therapy (RT). However, no survival benefit was noted for patients who received RT when compared with those who did not ( P =. 4594). Although a trend toward higher survival with RT (97.1% vs 83.5% without) was observed when high tumor grade and size >4 cm were excluded, it was not statistically significant ( P =. 2058). Conclusions: This report represents the largest series of EMC to date. Despite being regarded as a low‐grade, indolent tumor, a significant fraction of our cohort underwent RT in addition to surgery, with no apparent added survival benefit.