Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Abstract

Histological re-examination of 64 adenoid cystic carcinomata showed that 15 of them were different tumours, mainly adenocarcinomata. The remaining 49 adenoid cystic carcinomata were solid in 6 cases, cribriform in 24 cases and tubular in 14 cases. No precise classification was possible in 5 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma. Uncontrollablefactors important for the prognosis of adenoid cystic carcinomata included the histological type and the site of the tumour: major salivary glands (28 cases), area of paranasal sinuses (11 cases) and minor salivary glands (10 cases). Adenoid cystic carcinomata of tubular type or situated in minor salivary glands had a relatively favourable prognosis related to survival rate, ‘state of health’ and tendency to recurrence. Controllablefactors exerted a favourable influence on the commonly poor prognosis of adenoid cystic carcinomata. They included an early diagnosis and, because of the tendency to recurrence, radical surgery and radiotherapy. The poor long-term prognosis of this tumour was due to a tendency to local recurrence (80% of cases) and mainly haematogenous metastasis (37% of cases). Lymphogenous metastasis was less frequent (6% of cases).

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary glands: an immunohistochemical study

“…Some 85 years after the first description by Billroth (1) the adenoid cystic carcinoma was clinically and morphologically separated from the pleomorphic adenoma (3). The introduction of new morphological methods furnished new features of this tumor (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

“…They resemble in some aspeets the pleomorphic adenomas, but their fatal clinical course is quite different (2,3). There are several subtypes of the adenoid cystic eareitiomas, which can be distinguished on the basis of histologieal texture and elinieal behavior (4)(5)(6)(7)(8). The studies have dealt with the light microscopical appearance of this tumor (5,9), with its electron-microscopical appearanee (H)-12), and others have concentrated their interest on the clinicopathological correlations (5).…”

Sinonasal adenoid cystic carcinoma: Treatment outcomes and association with human papillomavirus

“…2 Local recurrence and distant metastasis can occur decades after definitive treatment making some consider adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) to be incurable. 1,3–5 …”