title: The surgical management of a leiomyosarcoma of the submandibular gland in a 95-year-old patient.
abstract: Primary sarcomas of the major salivary glands are rare and appear to originate from undifferentiated pluripotential mesenchymal cells. They must be distinguished from malignant supporting tissue neoplasms that secondarily involve the glands by direct extension or metastasis. Multidisciplinary management of head and neck soft tissue sarcomas is still controversial. We report a case of leiomyosarcoma of the submandibular gland in a 95-year-old man who was treated with excision of the right submandibular gland, extended to the surrounding tissues, without neck dissection. The patient tolerated the treatment well. Twenty-four months after surgery, the patient was doing well without any evidence of locoregional or distant disease. Surgery is the cornerstone of the management of leiomyosarcomas of the salivary glands. Wide surgical excision with histologically proven tumor-free margins was an appropriate treatment that may guarantee prolonged survival.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maxillofacial Surgery, Head and Neck Department, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, Turin, Italy. paolo.boffano@gmail.com
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boffano
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roccia
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zavattero
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallesio
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cassarino
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Campisi
authors.forename: Sid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berrone
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D003287:Contrast Media; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007890:Leiomyosarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013363:Submandibular Gland / Q000601:surgery; D013365:Submandibular Gland Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media