What is Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (AdCC)?
Simply put, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (AdCC) is a rare form of adenocarcinoma, found mostly in the head and neck, and occasionally in the breast and other body sites. You will sometimes hear the words cylindroma, cribriform, adenocystic, and other terms used to refer to AdCC; depending on the geographic location of the pathology report. It is usually grouped with cancers of the minor salivary glands, but it can arise in a number of other sites. This cancer is known for having long indolent periods of no growth, followed by growth spurts, although it has also been known to act very aggressively in certain cases. The best word to use to describe this cancer is ‘unpredictable’. Because scant statistics have been kept on this disease, the numbers are really too small to be described as conclusive of any disease pattern.
