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Review
. 2025 Apr 5:17:767-778.
doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S501202. eCollection 2025.

Treatment and Outcomes of Primary Tracheal Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Yiping Shi  1 , Shan Xue  2 , Jing Zou  2
Affiliations
Review

Treatment and Outcomes of Primary Tracheal Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Yiping Shi et al. Cancer Manag Res. .

Abstract

Primary tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma (TACC) is a rare malignant tumor. This systematic review describes the treatment strategies and oncological outcomes in patients with TACC. Full-text English manuscripts published from January 1st 1960, to December 31th 2023, were included. Data on demographics, treatment, and outcomes were also collected. A pooled analysis of 5-year overall survival (OS) was performed. Nineteen articles and 1488 patients met the inclusion criteria. The first-choice treatment strategy was surgery (74.5%), whereas adjuvant radiotherapy was administered to 56.7% of the patients. The follow-up range was 6-390 months. A total of 552 deaths were recorded, 98.7% of which were cancer related. The 5-year OS rate ranged from 28.6% to 100.0%; in the pooled analysis, it was 65% (range, 32%-96%). Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for TACC. Adjuvant radiotherapy is commonly administered to patients with positive margins, and survival estimates are good overall but heterogeneous.

Keywords: adenoid cystic carcinoma; survival; trachea; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Identification of studies via database and registers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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