Squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal: long-term clinical outcomes using surgery and external-beam...

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) of the external auditory canal (EAC) is often treated with a combination of surgery and radiotherapy (RT) to optimize the chance of achieving locoregional control. This retrospective review describes a 27-year experience of treating these tumors at the University of Florida.

Thirty patients with histologically confirmed SCCA of the EAC received external-beam radiation (RT) alone or combined with surgical resection between 1976 and 2003. Seven patients were treated with RT alone, 22 with postoperative RT, and 1with preoperative RT. Patients were grouped according to nodal status (N0/N1) and the Stell staging system for tumors of the EAC and middle ear. Early stage was defined as T1/T2 (n = 12) and advanced stage as T3 (n = 18). Median follow-up was 2 years (range, 0.1-19.4 years) with no patients lost to follow-up.

The 5-year actuarial probabilities for local control, locoregional control, and cause-specific survival for patients with early stage (T1/T2) versus advanced-stage (T3) tumors were 74% and 55% (P = 0.27), 63% and 38% (P = 0.16), and 70% and 41% (P = 0.04), respectively. The regional control rate was 83% (P = 0.6). There were 12 local recurrences and 4 neck recurrences as the first site of failure. One failure was successfully salvaged with surgery. Five of 23 (21%) patients undergoing surgery had significant complications (grade 3 or 4), whereas 2 of 30 (7%) patients receiving RT experienced grade 3 complications.

Patients with early stage disease achieved better local control, locoregional control, and cause-specific survival than those with advanced tumors. Less than half of the patients (13 of 30; 43%) were cured without significant complications, suggesting a suboptimal therapeutic ratio, using current treatment methods.