Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue of the salivary glands: a population-based study from 1994 to 2009

Abstract

Background: Extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) arising from the salivary glands is rare.

Methods: Five hundred seven cases were available for frequency/incidence analysis, and 712 for relative survival and regression analysis in the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.

Results: Of the total patients, 72.98% were women, 80.47% were white, and 74.75% were ≥50 years old. The parotid gland was involved in 80.87% of cases. Ann Arbor stage at diagnosis was 53.85% IE, 18.54% IIE, and 10.06% IIIE/IV. Overall, 15-year relative survival was 78.40%. Relative survival was worst among blacks and those with advanced-stage disease. No difference was noted between those treated with surgery, radiation, or both. Statistically significant poor prognosticators included black race (hazard ratio [HR], 2.3961; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.54-3.72; p = .0001) and stage IIIE/IV (HR, 2.3677; 95%CI, 1.36-4.11; p = .0022).

Conclusion: Early-stage salivary gland MALT lymphoma disease may be amenable to unimodality treatment. Even patients with advanced disease have relatively high survivals.

Keywords: Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER); epidemiology; extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue; major salivary glands; mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma; survival.