Survival Analysis of 76 Cases of Head and Neck Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma with Lung Metastasis

Background and objective Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the head and neck often develops lung metastasis. At present, there are not many research reports on ACC lung metastasis, little is known about its exact clinical features and treatment results, and there is no consensus on the best treatment strategy. This study explored the effective treatment strategies, clinical outcomes and long-term prognosis of head and neck ACC lung metastases. Methods The clinical and follow-up data of 76 patients with head and neck ACC lung metastases were retrospectively analyzed. According to the initial treatment of patients, they are divided into 4 groups: surgery, surgery+chemotherapy or radiotherapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy and supportive treatment. The patients were staged according to the International Registry of Lung Metastases Staging System (IRLM). Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used to compare the statistical differences of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with different treatment methods and different IRLM stages. Results The OS and PFS of patients undergoing surgery are better than those of supportive therapy or radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy (OS: P