Neoplasms of the temporal bone.

A series of 209 patients with chemodectomas and malignant neoplasms of the external auditory canal and middle ear seen during a 20-year period at the Mayo Clinic was reviewed. Ninety-nine patients had chemodectomas, and 110 had malignant lesions; 57 of the 110 patients with malignancies had squamous cell carcinoma. The study revealed that patients with chemodectomas had a normal expected length of survival, whereas patients with malignant lesions (especially those with squamous cell carcinomas and embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas) did poorly.