Cause-Specific Mortality in Patients with Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Major Salivary Glands

The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and cause of disease-specific death in patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) affecting the major salivary glands. A total of 94 patients with MEC treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1985 and 2009 were identified from a preexisting database of 451 patients with major salivary gland cancer. Patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics were recorded from a retrospective analysis of patient charts. There were 49 males (52 %), and the median age was 57 years (range, 9-89 years). Of the 94 patients, 49 % had low, 22 % had intermediate, and 28 % had high-grade carcinoma. Overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cause of death was determined by chart review. Predictors of DSS were identified by univariate analysis. With a median follow-up of 59 months (range, 1-257), the 5-year OS, DSS, and RFS for all patients were 76 %, 83 %, and 79 %, respectively. DSS was significantly poorer for high-grade MEC compared with low/intermediate-grade MEC (5-year DSS 37 % vs 100 %, P < .001). There were 9 disease-specific deaths. The cause of death in 7 patients was distant metastatic disease with locoregional recurrence accounting for death in only 2 patients. Outcome in patients with mucoepidermoid cancers of the major salivary glands is generally good. Mortality occurs almost exclusively in patients with high-grade tumors. The cause of death in the majority of patients is distant metastatic disease rather than locoregional recurrence.