Recent advances in management of salivary gland tumors

Salivary gland tumors account for approximately 3–5% of head and neck tumors. They arise either from the major (parotid, submandibular and sublingual) salivary glands or from the minor glands and the most common site of minor salivary gland tumor occurrence is the oral cavity.Salivary gland carcinomas represent the most heterogeneous group of tumors of any tissue in the body and the WHO classification has been recently updated listing 24 different histologic subtypes, some of which are very rare.The most common benign minor salivary gland tumor is pleomorphic adenoma and the most common malignant tumors are mucoepidermoid carcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma.whereas major salivary gland tumors are usually benign, minor salivary gland tumors tend to be malignant. Malignant tumors comprise 15–32% of parotid tumors, 41–45% of submandibular tumors and 70–90% of sublingual tumors.Every painless swelling of a salivary gland must arouse suspicion especially if there are no signs of inflammation. Clinical indicators of malignant salivary gland tumor include rapid growth rate, pain, facial nerve involvement and cervical lymphadenopathy.Imaging has an important role in diagnosis and management of salivary gland tumors. A calculus clinically simulating a parotid neoplasm can be excluded by a plain x-ray film in patients with solitary masses. Also, Sialograhy can give some idea of deep lobe involvement and whether a mass is intraparotid or not when combined with CT scanning although it is generally of little value in tumor assessment..