Head and neck solitary fibrous tumors: A review of the National Cancer Database

BackgroundHead and neck solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are rare neoplasms, with few large-scale studies describing this entity. We evaluated the demographics and correlates of survival in a large series of SFT patients. MethodsThe 2004-2017 National Cancer Database was queried for head and neck SFT patients receiving definitive surgery. Cox proportional-hazards and Kaplan-Meier analyses assessed overall survival (OS). ResultsOf 135 patients, sinonasal (33.1%) and orbital (25.9%) SFTs were most common. Approximately 93% of SFTs were invasive and 64% were classified as hemangiopericytomas. The 5-year OS of skull base SFTs (84.5%) was lower than sinonasal (98.7%) and orbital (90.7%) SFTs (all p < 0.05). Government insurance exhibited higher mortality (HR 5.116; p < 0.001) and lower OS (p = 0.001). ConclusionHead and neck SFTs presented with distinct prognoses based on anatomical origin. Overall survival was particularly worse in patients with skull base SFTs or government insurance. Prognostically, hemangiopericytomas were indistinct from other SFTs.

Automated summary

This study evaluated a large series of head and neck solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) patients and found that survival rates were closely associated with the anatomical origin, particularly lower survival rates in skull base SFT patients and those with government insurance.