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. 2015 Feb;152(2):279-83.
doi: 10.1177/0194599814556624. Epub 2014 Nov 10.

Epidemiological trends in malignant lacrimal gland tumors

Michael T Andreoli  1 , Vinay Aakalu  2 , Pete Setabutr  2
Affiliations

Epidemiological trends in malignant lacrimal gland tumors

Michael T Andreoli et al. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To describe epidemiological trends in lacrimal gland malignancies in the United States.

Study design: Retrospective database review.

Setting: Multicenter registry.

Subjects and methods: A total of 702 malignant tumors of the lacrimal gland from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database were included in the study. Disease-specific and overall survival were the primary outcome measures. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for multiple patient and tumor characteristics, including race, histology, TNM tumor stage, age at diagnosis, radiotherapy, gender, and tumor grade. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to assess the impact of patient and tumor characteristics on survival.

Results: Lymphoma (58.0%), adenoid cystic carcinoma (13.4%), adenocarcinoma (3.8%), and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (3.6%) accounted for most tumors. Lymphoma was associated with more favorable survival rates, while adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, and mucoepidermoid carcinoma were associated with worse prognosis. There was a steady increase in the proportion of lymphoma diagnosed since 1973. In a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model, tumor histology remained as the only covariate correlated with disease-specific survival.

Conclusion: Patient characteristics and survival rates differ between lymphoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The proportion of lacrimal gland cancer diagnosed as lymphoma has steadily increased over time. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated tumor histology as one of the most important factors in patient survival. These results augment our understanding of the expected disease course of lacrimal gland malignancies.

Keywords: adenoid cystic carcinoma; lacrimal cancer; lacrimal gland; lacrimal lymphoma; lacrimal malignancy; lacrimal tumor; mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier Overall Survival by Tumor Histology
Lymphoma yielded superior overall survival to adenocarcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma. There were no survival differences among mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Kaplan-Meier Disease-Specific Survival by Tumor Histology
Lymphoma demonstrated superior disease-specific survival to adenoid cystic carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. There were no survival differences among mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Proportion of Lacrimal Tumors Diagnosed as Lymphoma over Time
Plot of proportion of lacrimal tumors diagnosed as lymphoma by year.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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