Sarcomatoid Carcinoma in the Parotid Gland: A Review of 30 Years of Experience.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to analyze the results of clinical treatment of sarcomatoid carcinoma in the parotid gland by reviewing 30 years of experience.

METHODS

Thirty-five patients were enrolled in this study. The Kaplan-Meier methods were used to calculate the recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) rates. The Cox model was used to determine the independent risk factor.

RESULTS

Mean age at presentation was 57.8 years, and most of the patients were staged as tumor (T)3 or T4. Perineural invasion was noted in 15 (42.9%) patients. Fifteen (42.9%) patients received neck dissection due to clinically suspicious nodes. Of those, three patients had pathologically positive nodes. Recurrence was noted in 14 patients; the most common pattern of treatment failure was local recurrence, and only 40% of the patients could receive salvaged surgical treatment. Disease-specific death was noted in 10 patients. The 5-year RFS and DSS rates were 67.3% and 65.7%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis, only the factor of perineural invasion was independently correlated with death.

CONCLUSION

Parotid sarcomatoid carcinoma carries a poor prognosis, and perineural invasion was the most important predictive factor.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2b Laryngoscope, 129:1137-1140, 2019.