Salivary gland cancer

Definition/Description Salivary gland cancer is a raremalignancy that can occur in the major or minor salivary glands. Most salivary gland cancers occur in the parotid gland and present as a painless mass. Salivary cancers are a histologically diverse group of tumors with varying prognosis and treatment according to grade, histology, tumor extent, and stage. Treatment is primarily surgical, with postoperative radiotherapy reserved for patients with poor prognostic factors. Radiotherapy alone may be used for the treatment of inoperable tumors. Chemotherapy is not currently used in the initial management of stage I–III salivary gland cancer, but is commonly used to treat recurrent and metastatic salivary gland tumors.