Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Abstract

ADENOID CYSTIC carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant tumor that affects major and minor salivary glands, lacrimal glands, ceruminous glands, and occasionally excretory glands of the female genital tract. Adenoid cystic carcinoma is well known for its prolonged clinical course and the tendency for delayed onset of distant metastases. The combination of surgery and postoperative radiation therapy has enabled us to improve locoregional control of disease, but the prolonged clinical course, spanning decades, has made it difficult to determine whether the treatment option affects survival. Little progress has been made in the treatment of disseminated disease, the lungs being the organ most frequently affected. When metastases occur in bone, especially the spine, the course of disease is usually fulminant.