Clinical-Pathological profile of head and neck cancers other than squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective 20-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck is the main histological type and the sixth most common cancer in the world. However, tumors other than squamous cell carcinoma can affect the oral cavity, such as salivary gland carcinomas, lymphomas and sarcomas.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

A quantitative, retrospective, observational and cross-sectional study, in which 395 medical records of patients diagnosed/treated with non-SCC head and neck tumors from 2000 to 2020 at the Haroldo Juaçaba Hospital/Ceará Cancer Institute (HHJ/ICC) were analyzed. The data was compared using Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, Kaplan-Meier overall survival curves were constructed and the Mantel-Cox log-rank test was used.

RESULTS

Salivary gland tumors (1st = Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma), followed by sarcomas (1st = Kaposi's Sarcoma) and lymphoproliferative tumors (1st = Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma). The majority of the sample were women, with a mean age of 56 and a low level of education. Median overall survival was (95%CI = 57.29-101.71) months, with no difference between the lesion groups (p=0.727). Salivary gland tumors and sarcomas affected significantly younger age groups (p=0.011). Most of the sample was N0 (p=0.006) and multimodal therapy was the preferred choice, especially for salivary gland tumors, sarcomas and melanomas (p<0.001). Schooling (p=0.007) was inversely associated with overall survival and the independent predictor of death was the presence of lymph nodes (p=0.039).

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of non-SCC head and neck tumors is very low. There is no difference between men and women, age is a determining factor in differentiating tumors and lymph node metastasis is the main predictor of survival. In addition, schooling is an important risk factor for mortality in these patients. Key words:Head and Neck Neoplasms, Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Salivary Gland Neoplasms, Survival.