Basaloid nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A population‐based analysis of a rare tumor

• Published in: The Laryngoscope Vol. 129; no. 12; pp. 2727 - 2732
• Main Authors: Unsal, Aykut A., Booth, J. Renee, Rossi, Nicholas A., Byrd, J. Kenneth, Kountakis, Stilianos E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-12-2019
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; basaloid nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma; Disease-Free Survival; disease‐specific survival; Female; Humans; Incidence; Male; Medical prognosis; Middle Aged; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - epidemiology; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Neoplasm Staging - methods; Population Surveillance - methods; population‐based; Prognosis; Rare Diseases; Retrospective Studies; SEER; SEER Program; Squamous cell carcinoma; Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results; survival; Throat cancer; Tumors; basaloid nasopharyngeal carcinoma; disease-specific survival; survival; SEER; incidence; Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma; population-based; Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results
• ISSN: 0023-852X; 1531-4995
• DOI: 10.1002/lary.27788

Objectives
Basaloid nasopharyngeal carcinoma (BNPC) is an extremely rare malignancy with a paucity of cases reported in the literature. This analysis represents the largest cohort of BNPC to date.
Study Design
Retrospective population‐based analysis.
Methods
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry from 2001 to 2015 was utilized to extract a total of 82 cases of BNPC. Data were analyzed for incidence trends, demographic, and tumor characteristics, as well as potential outcome prognosticators.
Results
White male patients between the ages of 40 to 79 years were most commonly affected. The incidence was measured at 0.06 per 100 thousand people. The majority of tumors were considered high grade (grade III/IV; 92.2%). At presentation, patients were most commonly advanced stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC] stage IV) at 29.3%, followed by AJCC stages II and III (20.7%, respectively). T2 tumors were most common at 28.8%. Cervical node involvement and distant metastasis were measured at 53.7% and 10.4%, respectively. One‐year, 5‐year, and 10‐year disease‐specific survival was 87.7%, 60.7%, and 29.8%, respectively. No prognostic factors were identified in this study.
Conclusion
Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma represents a histologic subtype of nasopharyngeal carcinoma with excellent short‐term outcomes but poor survival at 10 years when compared to conventional squamous cell carcinomas.
Level of Evidence
NA Laryngoscope, 129:2727–2732, 2019