Background: Malignancies of the external auditory canal and temporal bone are uncommon. A retrospective review was conducted of a large series treated at the Prince of Wales hospital between 1974 and 1995.
Methods: Retrospective review of 59 cases of ear canal and temporal bone malignancies. These were analysed according to histopathology, disease extent, surgery, margin status and survival. A TNM-type staging system was applied to 51 cases and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis applied to this group.
Results: The 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS) for the series was 54%. For stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 disease, the CSS were 90, 45, 40 and 19%, respectively. Survival was significantly higher where clear surgical margins were achieved (80 vs 35%).
Conclusions: Carcinoma of the external ear canal is rare and, in Australia, is often related to recurrence of periauricular cutaneous malignancy. Surgical extirpation with clear margins provides the best survival.