HEAD AND NECK SARCOMAS: ANALYSIS OF CLINICOPATHOLOGIC FEATURES AND PROGNOSTIC FACTORS

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the demographic, clinicopathologic, treatment, and survival characteristics of head and neck sarcomas diagnosed in a reference center in the Brazilian Northeast. Study Design: This retrospective cohort study reviewed the clinical records of patients with head and neck sarcomas. Epidemiologic data were clinical location, age, gender, histopathological diagnosis, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, clinical TNM staging, and treatment. Local recurrence and survival were the outcome variables. Statistical analysis was performed by χ2 test, Fisher exact test, and binary logistic regression analysis. Survival analysis was assessed through the Kaplan-Meier curve. Results: In all, 69 cases were identified. The most common histologic sub-types were rhabdomyosarcoma, dermatofibrosarcoma, and pleomorphic sarcoma. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 38.1 years. A total of 31 cases analyzed were deaths due to the neoplastic process, with a mean follow-up rate of 1.63 years. Multivariate analysis performed revealed that anatomic site, modality of treatment, histopathological diagnosis, and stage I disease were associated with specific survival reaching statistical significance. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the impact of important clinicopathologic parameters on overall prognosis of head and neck sarcomas.