Clinicopathological and survival profile of patients with salivary gland myoepithelial carcinoma: A systematic review

Objectives: In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological and prognosis data of patients with salivary gland myoepithelial carcinoma.

Materials and methods: MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Embase search was performed with the keywords "myoepithelial carcinoma" "malignant myoepithelioma," and "salivary glands." Primary salivary glands myoepithelial carcinoma that fulfilled the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria were included. The Joanna Briggs Institute tool was used to assess the risk of bias.

Results: Forty-three studies (71 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The patients showed a mean age of 56.4 ± 19.6 years with no sex predilection. The parotid was the most affected gland (49.3%). The tumor presented as an asymptomatic (65.1%) mass (84%). The most common histological findings were the presence of clear tumor cells (39.7%) and multinodular growth patterns (60.7%). Multivariate analysis showed plasmacytoid cell type (p = 0.010) and solid growth pattern (p = 0.003) were related to decreased disease-free survival. Surgery alone was the most used treatment (53.5%). Patients with a combination of treatments showed a longer disease-free survival (p = 0.049). The 2-year and 5-year overall survival rates were 67.5% and 46.1%, respectively.

Conclusion: Salivary gland myoepithelial carcinoma showed no sex predilection, with a higher incidence in the parotid gland. Cell type, growth pattern, and treatment type may be related to a lower disease-free survival. Overall, salivary gland myoepithelial carcinoma presented low recurrence and metastasis rates. Registration and protocol: This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 checklist and registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (CRD42022311512).