Outcomes after eye‐sparing surgery vs orbital exenteration in patients with lacrimal gland carcinoma

BACKGROUND: This study examined whether eye-sparing surgery is associated with better or worse outcomes than exenteration for the treatment of lacrimal gland carcinomas. METHODS: Forty-six patients treated for lacrimal gland carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed and compared. A statistical analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier plots. RESULTS: The overall survival rates for eye-sparing surgery were 52% and 37% at 5 and 10 years, and those for exenteration were 37% and 25% at 5 and 10 years, respectively (P = .73). The proportion of patients with local regional control at both 5 and 10 years after eye-sparing surgery was 0.75, and that for exenteration was 0.47 (P = .30). For eye-sparing surgery, the proportions of distant metastasis-free survival at 5 and 10 years were 0.51 and 0.39 for eye-sparing surgery and 0.29 and 0.14 for exenteration (P = .50). CONCLUSION: Because the outcomes were not significantly different, the authors suggest that eye-sparing surgery can be proposed as a reasonable approach for lacrimal gland carcinomas in appropriately selected patients.