Clinical and pathological features of head and neck follicular dendritic cell sarcoma

AbstractObjectivesFollicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) in the head and neck is uncommon. The etiology, pathogenesis, optimal treatment, and prognosis are not well understood. In this review, we investigated these features to deepen the understanding of the disease.MethodsWe reviewed FDCS in the head and neck in the English language literature through Medline. We analyzed the clinical characteristics, pathologic features, immunophenotypic profile, and treatments of FDCS.ResultsOf 137 reported cases of FDCS in the head and neck region, 127 included data on age and gender. Among those, 64 were females and 63 were males. The mean age was 46 years (9–79 years). In the 106 cases with complete follow-up data, fourteen patients (13.2%) had local recurrence. Fourteen patients (13.2%) had distant metastasis. The metastatic site involved the lung, liver, adrenal, rib, vertebral body, and iliac bone. The overall 5-year survival rate was 80.0%. Compared to nodal FDCS and extranodal FDCS, the overall 5-year surviva...