Laryngeal adenosquamous carcinoma: A population-based perspective

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) is a rare malignancy in the upper aerodigestive tract, with limited data on its clinical behavior.
• Establishing a histopathologic diagnosis for ASC can be challenging, further hindering research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patient demographics, clinical behavior, incidence, and survival of laryngeal adenosquamous carcinoma (LASC).
• To utilize a national population-based resource for a comprehensive analysis of LASC.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective population-based analysis.
• Utilized the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.
• Analyzed data from 1973 to 2012 for patients diagnosed with LASC.

Main Results:

• Identified 68 LASC patients; 79.4% were male, mean age at diagnosis was 66.0 years.
• LASC commonly affected the glottis (47.1%) and supraglottis (42.6%), with most cases poorly differentiated and stage IV (40.7%).
• Overall incidence was 0.003/100,000, with a 5-year disease-specific survival rate of 36.6% and median survival of 33.6 months.

Conclusions:

• Laryngeal adenosquamous carcinoma (LASC) exhibits a low incidence, a predilection for males, and no racial predominance.
• LASC frequently presents as stage IV disease, with distant metastasis occurring in about 10.7% of cases.
• The overall prognosis for LASC is poor, characterized by a median survival of less than three years.