Cystic Adenoid Carcinomas in Ear, Nose and Throat: Unusual Localizations and a Literature Review

Introduction: adenoid cystic carcinoma account 1% for all cancers of the ear nose and throat. Despite slow growth, their recurrence is frequent. This study concerns 5 cases of cystic adenoid carcinoma with atypical ear nose and throat locations (outside the main salivary glands). Materials and methods: Our work is a study of 5 cases of cylindromes with atypical localizations collected at the ear nose throat and cervico-facial surgery department of Mohamed IV university hospital of Marrakesh: 1 case located at the external auditory meatus, 1 case at the infratemporal fossa, 1 case on the inside of the cheek, 1 case in the soft palate and one laryngotracheal case. Results and discussion: The management of adenoid cystic carcinoma remains delicate because of their insidious growth, their neurological tropism and their metastatic potential. These associated elements delay the diagnosis that is often made while those tumors are locally advanced, which can make surgery difficult, and be responsible of a lot of late recurrences. The treatment of these tumors has long relied on exclusive surgery. Cystic adenoid carcinomas were considered radio resistant. Retrospective studies have shown the benefit of treatment combining surgery and radiotherapy, in terms of local control and disease-free survival, compared to surgery or radiotherapy alone. Conclusion: The essential problem of adenoid cystic carcinoma remains the long-term control of the disease. Our results confirm that the gold-standard treatment should be both surgery and radiotherapy.