Salivary Gland Secretory Carcinoma; Review of 13 Years World-Wide Experience and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Secretory Carcinoma is a malignant salivary gland tumor, initially described in 2010. This rare tumor is associated with the translocation t(12;15) (p13;q25), resulting in the fusion gene ETV6-NTRK3. Since this tumor is quite rare, most publications describe only small cohorts of patients. We aimed to investigate the clinical, pathological, and prognostic features of this newly defined malignant entity. Data Sources: Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases. Review Methods: All published articles between 2010 and 2023 were reviewed. Search terms included the terms “Mammary Analogue Secretory Carcinoma” and “Secretory Carcinoma”. All articles published in English reporting on Secretory Carcinoma of salivary glands were retrieved. Results: One-hundred and 12 retrospective articles reporting a total of 674 patients were included, with 52% males and a mean age of 44.9 ± 18.9. The event rate for patients with advanced-stage disease (Stage 3/4) at presentation was 24.1% (95% CI 17.6%–31.9%, I² = 9.2%), 14.6% for regional metastases (95% CI 10.5%–20%, I² = 12%), and the event rate of distant metastasis was 8.4% (95% CI 5.5%–12.7%, I² = 4.2%). Adjuvant radiotherapy was administered for 30.3% of patients (95% CI 24.1%–37.2%, I² = 21.5%). The recurrence rate was 19% (95% CI 15.1%–23.8%, I² = 5%). Survival outcomes showed a 17.2% death of disease rate for Secretory Carcinoma patients (95% CI 13.5%–21.8%, I² = 7.3%). Conclusions: Secretory Carcinoma is a rare and relatively newly defined entity arising in the parotid gland most commonly. Characterized as a low-grade tumor, the majority of patients are diagnosed at an early stage, without regional or distant disease, and the prognosis is relatively good. Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 134:1716–1724, 2024.