Cervico-facial adenoid cystic carcinoma: study of 102 cases. Influence of radiation therapy.

One hundred two patients with cervico-facial adenoid cystic carcinoma were treated with surgery alone, radiotherapy alone or both from 1951 to 1980. All the cases have a 5-year minimum follow-up. The local control rate is 55.5% at 5 years and 37.7% at 10 years. The 5-year local control rate is 44% with surgery alone, 65.8% with radiotherapy alone and 77.8% with post-operative radiotherapy. The difference between surgery alone and radiosurgical association is significant (p less than 0.01). The bone involvement diminished local control rate (32.2%/k 68.8%). The 5-year survival rate of the patients who recurred and have been retreated is 70.5%. The 5-year survival rate of the patients after the appearance of a metastasis is 38.1% and 2 patients have survived more than 10 years. The NED 5-year survival rate is 48.8%. There is no significant difference in the NED 5-year survival rate according to sites or treatments. The crude 5-year survival rate is 70%, 51.4% at 10 years and 32.2% at 15 years. Our study shows that adenoid cystic carcinoma have a peculiar and slow evolution. Surgery with post-operative radiotherapy obtains the best local control. These results and the radiosensibility of these lesions allow us to propose an aggressive treatment for the recurrence and the primary tumor of the directly metastatic patients.