Table 1.
Characteristics of SEER patients with lymph node (LN) positive salivary gland cancer
| Categorical variables | No. of patients (N = 1210) | % |
|---|---|---|
| Race | ||
| White | 1042 | 86.1 |
| Black | 71 | 5.9 |
| Other | 97 | 8.0 |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 843 | 69.7 |
| Female | 367 | 30.3 |
| Year of diagnosis | ||
| 1988–1994 | 103 | 8.5 |
| 1995–2001 | 290 | 24.0 |
| 2002–2008 | 817 | 67.5 |
| Primary site | ||
| Parotid | 968 | 80.0 |
| Submandibular | 201 | 16.6 |
| Sublingual | 9 | 0.7 |
| Others | 32 | 2.6 |
| Histologic subtype | ||
| Squamous cell carcinoma | 289 | 19.8 |
| Adenocarcinoma | 187 | 14.6 |
| Adenoid cystic carcinoma | 92 | 7.6 |
| Mucoepidermoid carcinoma | 234 | 19.3 |
| Other | 408 | 38.6 |
| Grade | ||
| I | 35 | 2.9 |
| II | 185 | 15.3 |
| III | 499 | 41.2 |
| IV | 237 | 19.6 |
| Unknown | 254 | 21.0 |
| Surgery and radiation | ||
| Both | 930 | 76.9 |
| No | 280 | 23.1 |
| T staging | ||
| T1 + T2 | 355 | 29.3 |
| T3 + T4 | 744 | 61.5 |
| Tx | 111 | 9.2 |
| N staging | ||
| N1 | 456 | 37.7 |
| N2 | 725 | 59.9 |
| N3 | 29 | 2.4 |
| M staging | ||
| M0 | 1124 | 92.9 |
| M1 | 48 | 4.0 |
| Mx | 38 | 3.1 |
| Continuos variables | Median (range) | |
| Age | 65 years (6–100) | |
| No. of LN examined | 16 (1–90) | |
| No. of positive LNs | 2 (1–83) | |
| Lymph node ratio | 0.31 (0.01–1.00) | |