Clinicopathological Features of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma: An Institutional Perspective

Introduction: Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare salivary gland malignancy that can occur in any part of the body, its clinicopathologic features are scarcely reported in locoregional literature. Therefore, in this study we aimed to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of adenoid cystic carcinoma in our population and to determine the association of age and site of its occurrence with histologic pattern and perineural invasion. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 30 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma that underwent surgical resections or biopsies from March 2009 to February 2020 at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi. Clinical and histopathological parameters including age, site, histological pattern and perineural invasion were determined and association between different parameters was analyzed. Results: Mean age of the patients was 30 + 16.1 years. Cribriform pattern was most common histologic pattern (63.3%) while head and neck region was the most common site of occurrence (83.3%). Perineural invasion which is one of the most important prognostic factors in adenoid cystic carcinoma was present in approximately half of the patients (46.7%). No significant association of age and site was found with histologic pattern and perineural invasion. Conclusion: Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare malignancy most commonly occurring in head and neck region with a high frequency of perineural invasion. No significant difference of histologic pattern and histologic prognostic parameter like perineural invasion was noted at different ages and different sites in our study.