Relevance of tumor node metastasis staging in salivary gland tumors – a retrospective analysis from a tertiary cancer center

Background: Salivary gland malignancies are generally not appropriately staged and are treated based on the high-risk features. Prognosis is not routinely predicted based on the tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging. Aim of this Study: The aim of the study was to identify whether TNM staging is useful in the prognosis of salivary gland malignancies. Materials and Methods: The patients of salivary gland malignancies treated during the period of years 2010–2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Age, gender, location, histology, stage, treatment received, and survival were analyzed. Results: A total of 79 cases were analyzed. The median age at presentation was 45 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1.63:1. Mucoepidermoid (37.9%) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (31.6%) were the common histological types. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 73.4% and overall survival was 82.3%. The 5-year DFS was significantly higher in women, mucoepidermoid and adenoid cystic carcinomas histology types, T1 versus T4 (P = 0.027), and N0 versus N2 (P = 0.004) and significantly lower in age ≥55 years than age < 35 and 35–44. DFS for different sites and treatment groups did not show any significant differences. The factors with significant result on univariate analysis showed an increasing risk of recurrence with increasing T-status (P = 0.459), increasing age at diagnosis (P = 0.035), nodal status (P = 0.059), and histology type (P = 0.02). Conclusion: There is an increasing trend to differentiate 5-year DFS for salivary gland malignancies between different T- and N-status suggesting usefulness of TNM staging before treatment and needs further evaluation.