Current status of head and neck sarcomas in Japan in 2016–2019: an analysis using the national cancer registry

Background Head and neck sarcomas are especially rare in Asia, leading to limited clinical evidence.

This study aimed to investigate the incidence, clinical features, treatment status, and outcome of these sarcomas using data from the National Cancer Registry in Japan.

Methods All head and neck sarcomas diagnosed between 2016 and 2019 and recorded in the National Cancer Registry were analyzed.

Data on sex, age, primary site, histological type, stage, treatment modality, and prognostic information were collected.

Age-adjusted incidence and 3-year survival rates of patients with head and neck sarcomas were calculated.

Results Overall, 635 head and neck sarcoma patients were identified.

Head and neck sarcoma occurred more frequently in men and patients in their 70 s.

The age-adjusted annual incidence rate was 0.125 per 100,000 patients in the 2015 Japanese model or 0.089 per 100,000 patients in the world population model.

The nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses were the most frequent primary sites, with rhabdomyosarcoma as the most common histologic type.

Treatment typically involved chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy for rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma, whereas surgical approaches for other types.

Three-year survival rate of head and neck sarcoma patients was 64.8%.

Conclusions Head and neck sarcomas occurred rarely, but most frequently in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses in Japan.

Poor outcomes were observed for sarcoma patients than for non-sarcoma head and neck cancer patients.