Background: Inflammation has long been a key tenet in the diagnosis and management of malignancies, likely contributing to cancer incidence, staging, and progression. Systemic inflammation, in particular, is often elevated prior to and during cancer development. Systemic inflammation in the context of cancer diagnosis and monitoring is measured by various inflammatory indexes such as the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), plasma-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune inflammation index (SII), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). We set out to determine the relationship between pre- and post-treatment levels of these inflammatory indexes and the prognosis and outcomes of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of 172 patients with OPC who underwent treatment for oropharyngeal cancer at University Medical Center in Lubbock, TX between May 2013 to May 2023. Sites of primary cancer were obtained through chart review. HPV infection status and differentiation of the tumor were noted for each patient. Treatment modalities were classified as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or concurrent chemotherapy and radiation. Treatment outcomes were classified based on recurrence and death secondary to disease. The relationships between treatment outcome and the described inflammatory indexes were evaluated. Appropriate parametric tests were selected based on the large number of variables. Results: Pre-treatment SIRI and Albumin levels were positively predictive in determining locoregional recurrence (p = 0.031 and p = 0.039). NLR, SII, and SIRI levels taken at three months post-treatment were also found to be positively predictive of locoregional recurrence (p = 0.005, p < 0.0005, and p = 0.007). SIRI taken at six months post-treatment was also found to be positively predictive of locoregional recurrence (p = 0.008). SII at six months post-treatment was found to be positively predictive of survival (p = 0.027). Conclusion: This study suggested that post-treatment levels of several inflammatory indexes, particularly SIRI, NLR, and SII, may be useful in determining the long-term outlook and recurrence of head and neck cancer following treatment.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a malignancy of the secretory epithelial cells of the salivary glands and constitutes less than 1% of all head and neck tumors. Metastasis occurs frequently and most commonly affects the lungs at a rate of 35 to 50%. In this case report, we present a rare case of nasopharyngeal ACC with distant metastasis to the liver. Our patient initially presented to the hospital with dental and sinus pain with initial imaging suggesting nasopharyngeal carcinoma invading the temporal lobe laterally and the cavernous sinus and clivus medially. The foramen ovale and the optic nerve were also involved, leading to loss of vision bilaterally. Immunohistochemical staining of the biopsy eventually led to the correct diagnosis of high-grade ACC, solid type. The patient’s hospital course was complicated, with pulmonary thrombosis eventually leading to hypoxic respiratory failure and death. Although this patient was initially diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, thorough pathologic investigations allowed for a clearer understanding of the disease, primarily ACC’s eventual distal metastasis in the patient. In the future, providers should continue to keep ACC in their differential diagnosis list when evaluating patients with head and neck tumors, with the goal of maintaining locoregional control of the tumor.Keywords: adenoid cystic carcinoma, liver metastasis, nasopharyngeal salivary glands, head and neck cancer