Clinicopathologic Review of Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma

Abstract

Objective: 1) Describe the epidemiology of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) in the head and neck treated at a tertiary care hospital. 2) Determine clinical and pathologic predictors of recurrence and survival in patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma in the head and neck treated at a tertiary care hospital. Method: Medical records of 94 patients (mean age, 50.4 years; M:F, 48:46) who underwent surgical treatment for MEC of the head and neck between 1995 and 2010 were reviewed. Main outcome measures were DFS, DSS, and OS. Clinicopathologic parameters evaluated were age, sex, TNM stage, subsite, adjuvant therapy, tumor grade, and margin status. Results: Of the 94 patients, 42 parotid, 26 palate, 12 oral, 9 submandibular/sublingual, 4 orbital, and 1 parapharyngeal tumors were identified. All patients underwent surgical resection, 32 patients had postoperative radiation and 3 postoperative chemoradiation. The 5-year OS and DSS were 79% and 90% with a median follow-up of 72 months and 45 months, respectively. The 5-year DFS was 74% with 12 patients developing recurrence. On univariate analysis, age >50 ( P = .01), male sex ( P = .008), positive nodal status ( P = .01) and high-grade histology ( P = .003) were predictive of poor prognosis. On multivariate analysis, high-grade histology ( P = .02) and male sex ( P = .04) were predictive of poor prognosis. Conclusion: The epidemiology of MEC is consistent with previous studies. High grade histology continues to be the strongest independent predictor of survival in MEC followed by male sex. Further studies into the molecular biology of MEC that may account for such clinicopathologic features are warranted.