Myoepithelial carcinoma of the head and neck: A report of 23 cases and literature review

Abstract

Objective

Myoepithelial carcinoma (MC) of head and neck is extremely rare. The relevant literature consists only of case reports, and consequently many of its clinical characteristics and optimal treatment strategies remain unknown.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 23 patients diagnosed with MC of the head and neck between 1991 and 2005. Most patients were treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy. The recurrence, survival and local control rates were evaluated.

Results

Thirteen (56.5%) patients were male and 10 were female with a median age of 52 years (range: 15–77 years). The parotid was the most frequently involved site (39.1%). Eighteen patients underwent surgery as their initial treatment and nine of these received postoperative radiotherapy. The 3-year and 5-year overall survival rates were 59% and 31.8%, respectively. The local relapse rate was 30.4% (6/23); eight patients had a distal metastasis, and the lung was the most common site. There was no difference in the local control and survival rates between patients who received surgery alone and those with additional postoperative radiotherapy (p=0.059). Two patients had partial response after chemotherapy with dacarbazine.

Conclusions

The detailed clinical data presented here reveal several new characteristics of MC of the head and neck. Postoperative radiotherapy did not improve the prognosis. Chemotherapeutic regimens that include dacarbazine might be useful.