Recurrent Parotid Carcinosarcoma in an Asymptomatic Patient

Abstract

In this article, we present the case of a 52-year-old male with a history of parotid carcinosarcoma with initial diagnosis being 18 months prior. Initial treatment included a combination of gamma knife surgery coupled with high dosage chemotherapy and X-ray radiation therapy. At the time of follow-up, the patient presented with no complaints and had a nearly normal physical exam with the exception of some facial nerve weakness on the same side as the initial surgery. Despite being asymptomatic, the patient had a significant progression of disease that was manifested with intracranial lesions, multiple pathologic fractures, and a dramatic increase in overall tumor burden. Ultimately, the patient decided to pursue comfort measures only and succumbed to the disease peacefully soon thereafter.

Patterns of Care and Outcomes of Carcinosarcoma of the Major Salivary Glands

“…Carcinosarcoma is a rare biphasic malignant tumor of the salivary gland that remains understudied. Most publications about salivary gland carcinosarcoma are limited to small case series 5 . The only population‐level article in the literature that describes the tumor's incidence, prognostic factors, and survival was published by Gupta et al in 2020, which used the SEER database and was limited by its small sample size (66 patients) 12 .…”

“…Most publications about salivary gland carcinosarcoma are limited to small case series. 5 The only population-level article in the literature that describes the tumor's incidence, prognostic factors, and survival was published by Gupta et al in 2020, which used the SEER database and was limited by its small sample size (66 patients). 12 To the best of our knowledge, the present publication investigates a sample larger than all other previous reports to better define the tumor characteristics and patterns of care for carcinosarcoma.…”

“…In 2016 Mansour et al found <73 cases of salivary gland carcinosarcoma in the literature 5 . Patients often experience facial pain.…”

“…4 In 2016 Mansour et al found \73 cases of salivary gland carcinosarcoma in the literature. 5 Patients often experience facial pain. Facial nerve palsies may also occur if the parotid gland is involved.…”