Abstract
•The primary site of salivary gland tumors has impact on prognosis.•Tumors from minor salivary glands presented worse overall survival.•Adenoid cystic carcinoma from upper aerodigestive tract present shorten overall survival.•Tumors from major salivary glands presents better recurrence-free survival and locoregional control of disease.
In numerous types of cancer, the primary tumor site can show a correlation with disease behavior and survival outcomes. In salivary gland tumors (SGTs) this association remains controversial. This study assessed the association between primary sites of SGTs and prognosis. Studies from five databases were assessed and a meta-analysis was performed using studies that presented 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI), hazard ratio (HR) and survival analysis. Gathered information from 46,361 patients showed that site had a prognostic impact on SGTs. Tumors involving minor salivary glands showed worse overall survival (HR = 1.60; 95 % CI = 1.17–2.19; p = 0.003), disease-specific survival (HR=1.63; 95 % CI = 1.12−2.37; p = 0.01), and cause-specific survival (HR=2.10; 95 % CI = 1.72−2.55; p = 0.00001). Tumors from major salivary glands showed better recurrence-free survival (HR=2.31; 95 % CI = 1.77−3.02; p = 0.00001), and locoregional control of disease (HR=2.66; 95 % CI = 1.20−5.91; p = 0.02). Our results showed that the primary site of SGTs has an impact on patient prognosis.