ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to assess the long-term survival of patients with
a paraganglioma of the head and neck compared with the survival of the general Dutch
population. This historic cohort study was conducted using nationwide historical data
of paraganglioma patients. We retrieved a cohort of 86 patients diagnosed with a paraganglioma
of the head and neck between 1945 and 1960 in the Netherlands. Dates of death were
retrieved from the national bureau of genealogy. Survival after diagnosis was compared
with age and sex adjusted survival in the general population, by means of Wilcoxon
signed rank test and Kaplan-Meier actuarial survival curves. Although surgery had
more complications in the studied era than today and the death of five patients with
carotid body tumors caused immediate excess mortality, the survival of the followed
cohort was not significantly reduced if compared with the general population. Paragangliomas
of the head and neck do not reduce life expectancy.
KEYWORDS
Paraganglioma - carotid body tumor - glomus tumor - survival
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Jeroen JansenM.D. Ph.D.
LUMC Department of Otorhinolaryngology
P.O. Box 9600, 2300RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
Email: jcjansen@lumc.nl
