title: Radiotherapy in epithelial tumors of the parotid gland: case presentation and literature review.
abstract: A group of 113 patients irradiated for parotid tumor was studied retrospectively. Sixty-two patients were irradiated after superficial parotidectomy or enucleation of a pleomorphic adenoma. None of them had a recurrence after 5-15 years. Sixteen patients were irradiated postoperatively after surgery for a recurrence of pleomorphic adenoma. Only one of them had developed a recurrent tumor. Thirty-five patients with a malignant parotid tumor were treated by irradiation, 22 after surgery and 13 after biopsy only. Patients with a low malignancy tumor (10/11) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (6/12) responded better than patients with a high malignancy carcinoma (2/12). A tumor larger than 4 cm, facial nerve palsy, lymph node metastasis, and inoperability indicate a poor prognosis. With high dose radiotherapy it is possible to treat inoperable tumors successfully. Adenoid cystic carcinomas can respond well to irradiation alone.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Radiotherapy, University Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ravasz
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Terhaard
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Hordijk
mesh_terms: D008949:Adenoma, Pleomorphic / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000528:radiation effects; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies