Importance of tumor extent in adenosquamous carcinoma of the head and neck: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the correlates of survival for patients diagnosed with adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) of the head and neck.

STUDY DESIGN: Patients diagnosed with ASC of the head and neck between 1973 and 2012 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were conducted to investigate the prognostic factors and treatment modalities that determine overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).

RESULTS: In the analysis, of the 235 patients diagnosed with adenosquamous of the head and neck, 66.8% were male and 33.2% were female with a median age at diagnosis of 64 years. Kaplan-Meier analysis determined 5-year survival rates of 30% for OS and 50% for DSS. Univariate and multivariate analyses found that age at diagnosis, tumor size, tumor extent of disease, surgical resection, and radiation therapy were independent predictors of OS and DSS.

CONCLUSIONS: This study, to our knowledge, is the largest study, to date, determining the correlates of survival for ASC of the head and neck. Older age at diagnosis, larger tumor size, and further extent of disease were correlated with decreased survival. Surgical resection improves survival in patients with localized or regional disease, whereas radiation therapy confers survival benefit in patients with distant extent.