Patterns of nodal relapse after surgery and postoperative radiation therapy for carcinomas of the major and minor salivary glands: What is the role of elective neck irradiation?
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA (United States)
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA (United States)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA (United States)
Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of nodal relapses from carcinomas of the salivary glands among patients with clinically negative necks in an attempt to determine the potential utility of elective neck irradiation (ENI). Methods and Materials: Between 1960 and 2004, 251 patients with clinically N0 carcinomas of the salivary glands were treated with surgery and postoperative radiation therapy. None of the patients had undergone previous neck dissection. Histology was: adenoid cystic (84 patients), mucoepidermoid (60 patients), adenocarcinoma (58 patients), acinic cell (21 patients), undifferentiated (11 patients), carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (7 patients), squamous cell (7 patients), and salivary duct carcinoma (3 patients); 131 patients (52%) had ENI. Median follow-up was 62 months (range, 3-267 months). Results: The 5- and 10-year actuarial estimates of nodal relapse were 11% and 13%, respectively. The 10-year actuarial rates of nodal failure were 7%, 5%, 12%, and 16%, for patients with T1, T2, T3, and T4 disease, respectively (p = 0.11). The use of ENI reduced the 10-year nodal failure rate from 26% to 0% (p = 0.0001). The highest crude rates of nodal relapse among those treated without ENI were found in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (67%), undifferentiated carcinoma (50%), adenocarcinoma (34%), and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (29%). There were no nodal failures observed among patients with adenoid cystic or acinic cell histology. Conclusion: ENI effectively prevents nodal relapses and should be used for select patients at high risk for regional failure.
- OSTI ID:
- 20944754
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Vol. 67, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2006.10.044; PII: S0360-3016(06)03386-4; Copyright (c) 2007 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0360-3016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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