Prognostic Factors in Patients with Malignant Salivary Gland Neoplasms in a Brazilian Population

Abstract

Due to the difficulty of follow-up for long periods, information about the survival rates of malignantsalivary gland tumors is deficient in the global scientific literature. This study was aimed at investigating theepidemiological profile and prognostic factors that might affect survival in patients with primary malignantsalivary gland tumors in Brazil. Patients were investigated regarding histopathological subtypes, age, gender,anatomic localization, smoking and alcohol intake, tumor size, clinical stage, histological grade, recurrence,metastasis, and treatment on clinicopathological outcomes. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the log rank test and Coxregression, respectively. A total of 63 cases were analyzed, females beingslightly predominant (50.8%), with agesranging from 13 to 87 years. The most common diagnosis was adenoid cystic carcinoma and the most affectedanatomical location was the parotid. Tumors were predominantly classified as stage I and high-grade at thediagnosis. The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 84.6% and 74.7%, respectively. Disease-free survival(DFS) rates were 71.6% (5 years) and 56.6% (10 years). Univariate analysis showed significant effects of tumorsize and clinical stage on the DFS (P < 0.0001 for both), and Cox regression analysis confirmed clinical stage as anindependent prognostic factor (P = 0.035). Our results highlight the relevance of clinical stage as an independentprognostic parameter for malignant salivary gland tumors.